A UK mother is urging primary schools to remove Sleeping Beauty from their curriculum to avoid teaching inappropriate lessons on sexual consent.
The children's fairytale tells the story of Princess Aurora, who is cursed and falls into a deep sleep - one that she can only be woken from if she receives a kiss from her fiancée, Prince Philip.
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However Sarah Hall, a mother from Newcastle whose six-year-old was given the story as reading material by his school, has taken issue with the story.
Speaking to the Newcastle Chronicle, she said the story isn't appropriate for primary school students "in today's society".
"I think it's a specific issue in the Sleeping Beauty story about sexual behaviour and consent. It's about saying is this still relevant, is it appropriate?" Ms Hall explained.
However she said it wouldn't necessarily be good for the story to be taken out of schools completely - and could end up being a powerful learning tool for more mature students.
"I actually think it would be a great resource for older children - you could have a conversation around it, you could talk about consent, and how the Princess might feel," Ms Hall told the Newcastle Chronicle.
"But I'm really concerned about it for younger children, [and] would really welcome a conversation about whether this is suitable material."
Sleeping Beauty was originally a story about rape when it was first thought up in Italy in the 1500s. It was adapted for the popularised version.
Newshub.
