Professor Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist , atheist and all-round spoilsport has declared that telling and reading traditional fairy tales to our children is harmful. Not only harmful, but pernicious! He said, ‘ I think it’s rather pernicious to inculcate into a child a view of the world which includes supernaturalism.’

I can only imagine the barrenness of a childhood without magic, without elves and shoemakers, without magic porridge pots and kitchen maids losing a shoe at the ball. I remember the sparkle in my own children’s eyes as they heard about a young boy felling a nasty giant at the top of the beanstalk. And the satisfaction at Hansel and Gretel sticking it to the wicked witch.

He seems concerned, bless him, that children may actually believe a prince could be turned into a frog despite the fact that it’s ‘statistically improbable’. No? Really? Give our kids some credit.

Surely these stories fire the imagination in a way that his suggestion that children should be ‘taught scientific rigour from an early age’ cannot?

He’s taken a great deal of stick since making the statement and has tried a U-turn on twitter. Well, half a U-turn. He said, ‘It IS pernicious to inculcate supernaturalism in a child. Do Fairy Tales do that? Probably no.’ Wow, I’m shocked at that revelation!

Fairy Tales did no harm to my children, who both grew up into sensible well-grounded adults. As for me – I have a firm grip on reality. My unicorn said so, this morning!