今日，我們對兒童是更加地照顧了，他們能有自己的衣服、玩具、書等等。很多作者仍持續地從事童話寫作，其中也包括將古典童話故事重新寫過。「Hnas Christian Andersen Award for Illustration」並一直鼓勵作家們從事童話寫作。儘管如此，童話故事在過去卻未必是為兒童而作的。在十九世紀早期，浪漫主義促使了童話故事的發展。但這所代表的其實是展現民族的心靈面，不是為了取悅兒童。直到十九世紀末，作家們才比較注意到兒童，他們開始專為兒童寫作故事。所以他們也會開始注意兒童的心智與行為。作者們希望能夠藉此吸引兒童來閱讀他們的故事。並能從中學習事物。一直到十九世紀末，大人們都還不能真正了解孩童的思想，而是採取輕視的態度。但此時大人們漸漸開始嚐試去了解孩童，並認知到成年人與兒童有不同之處。大人們會試著採用合適的方法，讓兒童能較自然地學習。是什麼原因促成了這種轉變？本文的目的即是要討論西歐童話故事的演進歷程。 　　我將從三個角度加以探討，一是文化運動，以及兒童教育，和兒童地位。浪漫主義將童話故事提升到一個較高的地位；寫實主義則改變童話故事的內容與組成；義務教育又提高了識字率，使更多兒童能閱讀，而教育本即具有較大的重要性。此外，兒童也像工人一樣在工廠工作，並且也非常窮困。大人們注意到這個情況，並利用他們的投票權使兒童脫離山廠。因此，將兒童送進學校也使他們與成年人的世界分離。這更使兒童受到注意，而發展出屬於兒童自己的童話故事。

Nowadays, we pay much attention to children. In the fairy tales, many writers devote to do it. They continue to make appropriate stories and renew the classic ones. 「Hnas Christian Andersen Award for Illustration」is to encourage drawing fairy tales for children. However, fairytales didn't belong to children in the early nineteenth century. Romanticism promoted the position of fairy tales, but it was to show the spirit of the nation. Until the end of nineteenth century, writers paid much attention to children. They make fairytales just for children. Writers hoped to attract children reading fairy tales and to make them learn something. In fact, until the end of the nineteenth century, adults were trying to know children. And they admitted that it is different between children mind and adults'. What happened about this change? This report will to find the reasons of fairy tales' progress in the West Europe. I discuss the problem from three courses. They are the culture movement, the education and the position of child. Romanticism makes fairy tales to get an important position in literature; Realism reformed the contents and the compositions of fairy tales; and the compulsory education promoted the literacy rate. More children could read. Besides, children as workers as in the factories were very poor. Their situation was noticed by adults. When children were forced to go to school, the world of children and adults were separated. Children gradually took an important position. These reasons promoted the development of fairy tales which belonged to children.