By Tiffany Markman, copywriter, editor and mom to an almost-three-year-old, who tries to balance her workaholism with cuddles, books, caffeine & reining in her intrinsic kugelry. Follow her on twitter.
Goosey goosey gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady’s chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn’t say his prayers,
So I took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stairs.
It’s been one of my daughter’s favourite nursery rhymes since she started talking – (‘gooth’ was one of her first words). But my husband and I have always found it slightly macabre that there’s a song about a large bird flinging a geriatric down the stairs, in retaliation for religious apathy.
And this is one of the tame ones.
Think about three blind mice and their chopped-off tails, Rock-A-Bye Baby and his/her terrifying tumble from the treetop, poor cursed Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and Jill’s cracked skulls. Not to mention that freak Peter, who confined his wife to a pumpkin shell.
I looked into it and it turns out that most traditional nursery rhymes weren’t really meant for children – they began as political or religious statements, couched in enough nonsense to protect the singer from prosecution for treason and set to a catchy melody that was easy to remember.
Take, for instance, Baa Baa Black Sheep. It’s not about black sheep or little boys. It’s about taxes.
In the 13th century, King Edward I realised he could make some moolla by taxing sheep farmers. One-third of the price of a sack of wool went to the king, one-third to the church and the last third to the farmer. Nothing was left for the little shepherd, crying down the lane. (The original final line was ‘And none for the little boy, crying down the lane.’)
(Even the Hundred Acre Wood isn’t exempt. It turns out that Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends demonstrate a staggering number of personality disorders. I can’t say, however, whether AA Milne created the characters with this in mind. I sincerely hope not.)
If you think nursery rhymes might be a little bit dodgy, don’t – I beg you! – google the origins of popular fairytales (like Beauty & the Beast, which is about bestiality and sororicide; The Little Mermaid, a story of agonising pain, loss and betrayal; The Pied Piper, in which an enraged madman systematically murders a town’s children; and Sleeping Beauty (a.k.a Sun, Moon and Talia, which is perhaps the worst of them all.)
I’m more than a little convinced that the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen were a bunch of bloodthirsty and misanthropic literary lunatics.
So, what to do? Do we forbid our children from exposure to old-fashioned rhymes and legendary stories? Do we impose a Disney-version-only culture? (G-d forbid.) Do we audit our books, films and music, discarding anything that isn’t safe to read by virtue of an upbeat storyline, positive messaging and a happy ending?
Nope.
My advice is this: We take nursery rhymes with a pinch of salt and a sense of humour, alter the words/outlines/endings of stories that don’t support our cultural, social or other comfort zones, avoid the stuff that offends us, and ensure that our kiddies are adequately compensated with ‘good’ children’s stories to keep them entertained.
How? What stories are ‘good’ for kids, and at what age?
Well, you’ll have to look out for Part II of this series: GOOD BOOKS ARE OUT THERE, AND OTHER STORIES (PART II). No-one said parenting was easy 😉 See you soon.
Book-related notes: The Kingsmead College Book Fair is coming up in Joburg on Saturday 24 May and the SA Book Fair runs from 13-15 June 2014 in Cape Town.
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This article came from a radio interview I did in April, on Chai FM's Yael Geffen-Fine Show. I spoke to Yael about nursery rhymes, why they're scary and what we should offer our kids to read. In part I we look at the back-story and in part II, coming soon, I give lists of 'good' books, as well as some age-appropriate tips on what to read when. Comment if you like.
and how about ring-a-ring-a rosie? Its about the bubonic plague which spread through europe in the 1300's. (one theory around this rhyme has it that the 'ring' was the ring of sores around the mouths of plague victims, who subsequently sneezed and fell down dead). i have chills each time my girls dance to it!
I did a lot of research on this one. Apparently, tho' I stand to be corrected, the association with the Black Death is a myth. The first known reference to the rhyme is in 1881, more than 500 years after that plague swept across Europe. And, in its 1881 form, there isn’t any sneezing. Here’s a version from the mid-20th century:
Ring a ring a roses,
A pocket full of posies.
One, two, three, four,
We all fall down down.
The sneezing was added sometime in the last 50 years or so. So it's possible that this one really is just a nice little rhyme – with no ulterior meanings at all.
Love it looking forward to the next article 😉
Wow – humanity on the whole is rather macabre! No wonder we have so many sociopaths out there, and it's growing! Thanks for the article and looking forward to Part II!
Olga Da Polga This is interesting. Im sure you are right but each time they play it i have images of pale, pink cheeked people. 🙁 I think we should make up our own nursery rhyme collection for the 20th century kid!
U are so right..its scary we grew up with this
I think people must start thinking laterally-read other stories,there's lots out there.Anything wrong with Dr Seuss that I should be aware of??
interesting article.
It is certainly true that the origins of nursery rhymes may be scary. However, as a Speech-Language Therapist I am very focused on the Rhyme part of Nursery Rhymes. It saddens me that very few people expose their children to rhymes these days. Rhyming is an essential skill that children need in order to learn to read.
There are 2 great books which actually don't have the scary parts of the rhyming and are proudly South African. African Nursery Rhymes by Liz Mills and An African ABC by Jacqui Taylor, both are published by Struik and were available at Exclusives. ( on behalf of Dr Melissa Bortz)
HI. jammer maar die een is in afrikaans. Die liedjie siembamba kom van die voortrekkertyd af toe die engelse die voortrekkers op skepe en treine gesit het en weg gestuur het (konsentrasie kampe) Op die plekke het onheilighede plaasgevind en baie van die voortrekker vroue het dan swanger geraak en moes geboorte gee aan die "onwelkome kinders" in die kampe. Van die kinders is dan dood gemaak of "vroeg afgebring". Die liedjies is dan gesing.
(Ek het die gelees in die boek – Konsentrasie Kampe)