As many as one in five parents say they don't read traditional fairy tales to their young children as they think they're "too scary," a survey has revealed.
Instead they have decided to opt for more modern classics such as The Gruffalo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the research found.
The poll of 2,000 parents by TV channel Watch, also found that nearly half of parents refuse to read Rumpelstiltskin or Rapunzel to their children because they featured kidnapping and executions.
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A third of parents questioned said that Little Red Riding Hood - where the grandmother is gobbled by a wolf - had left their child in tears.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears was thought to condone stealing by some parents, others thought that Jack and the Beanstalk was "too unrealistic," while the term "dwarfs" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was thought to be unsuitable, the Daily Mail reported.
Even Cinderella raised concerns among parents, as 52 per cent of those surveyed thought it outdated because the main character is a young woman doing housework all day.
A quarter of parents also said they wouldn't consider reading a fairytale to their children until they had reached the age of five, as the stories prompt too many awkward questions.
Steve Hornsey, general manager of Watch, which carried out the survey to mark the launch of US drama "Grimm," said: "As adults, we can see the innocence in fairy tales, but a five-year-old with an over-active imagination could take things too literally."