Why nursery rhymes are in danger of dying out

 

by LAURA CLARK - More by this author » Last updated at 01:14am on 9th July 2007 Comments (25)

Traditional verses such as Humpty Dumpty are in danger of dying out

 

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't get most parents to sing nursery rhymes to their children.

Traditional verses such as Humpty Dumpty are in danger of dying out because mothers and fathers are singing pop songs to their children instead, it is claimed.

More than a quarter of parents polled for a survey admitted they cannot remember a single rhyme.

And while research suggests that singing to children can give them a head start at school, 37 per cent of parents said they rarely gave voice.

Of those who did, 38 per cent favour pop songs.

The survey, for the pre-school channel Cartoonito, questioned more than 1,200 parents across Britain, of whom only 12 per cent could recall three or more nursery rhymes in full.

Parents in London and the Midlands were least likely to know a complete rhyme, while those in the South West and Wales were most well-versed.

 

Mothers and fathers are singing pop songs to their children instead of nursery rhymes

 

 

Out of nursery rhymes that respondents did know, the most popular were Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Ring-a-Ring O'Roses, Baa, Baa Black Sheep and Hickory, Dickory Dock.

But most parents - 71 per cent - were clueless about the historical meaning of the rhymes. Just 28 per cent of young parents said they sang to their children "all the time".

Dr Janine Spencer, development psychologist at Brunel University, said: "Not only are nursery rhymes an important historical part of our culture, but by singing them to young children you can help speed up the development of their communication, memory, language and reading skills.

"It is also an entertaining and fun way to interact with your baby or toddler, and is crucial for recognising and learning phonic sounds."

A spokesman for Cartoonito, said: "It would be an incredible shame if they slip out of popular culture, particularly when song is proven to help children learn."

not even twinkle, twinkle little star? that is like the nursery rhyme. i don't find it surprising that the classics are dying out though, seems a lot of the old tradition is breaking down lately which is really sad for the next generation.

not even twinkle, twinkle little star?

 

Or "Twinkle, twinkle, little starskay"??:P

well that does work, and has a modern twist, what else could one ask for? :wink:

well that does work, and has a modern twist, what else could one ask for? :wink:

 

Humpty Dumpty spat on a wall??:rolleyes:

 

Jack and Jill went up the hill to smoke some wacky baccy??

 

Little Miss Muffett sat on a "rabbit"??

ok, take it back a notch, better yet let's just stick with the classics :tongue:

i can't believe pop songs are taking over nursery rhymes. what can the latter provide that is better than a simple nursery rhyme? i'm really asking. i mean what about incy wincy spider and little jack horner? etc

what a shame really.

ok, take it back a notch, better yet let's just stick with the classics :tongue:

i can't believe pop songs are taking over nursery rhymes. what can the latter provide that is better than a simple nursery rhyme? i'm really asking. i mean what about incy wincy spider and little jack horner? etc

what a shame really.

 

Well I think the latter would have to be changed to "Little Jack Horny"!!:P

And don't forget - many of the nursery rhymes (e.g. "Baa baa black sheep") have been banned owing to their politically-incorrect or racist nature..............

I believe there was even a complaint from a real-life "old mother" Hubbard, who said she resented the suggestion she kept a starving dog!!

sadly, you're probably right.

i'm sure somewhere, what we feel is now politically correct is poitically incorrect to someone else etc perhaps people need to relax and target bigger issues than songs sung to little kids to make them go to bed; they sang them to me and i reckon i'm all right (haha, i'm not leaving that up for debate)

long live nursery rhymes! :cool:

That really is sad. As a child (not that long ago) I used to sit in bed and read from my book of nursery rhymes every night and memorized every one of them. It actually helped with my writing in Primary School too! They taught me how to structure poems more than my dud school teachers ever could. A lot more can be learned from traditional nursery rhymes then Pussycat Dolls songs! :thumbsdown: