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Mother Goose - Friend of Fascist?

© Arden Davidson

Most early schoolage children already know several Mother Goose rhymes by heart. Yet they are usually unaware of some of the "deeper meanings" within these rhymes. And while many nursery rhymes have positive messages, others (according to critics) are not such a positive influence. Many of the classic rhymes have been accused of promoting sexism, racism...even fascism. Other still, have been criticized for more subtle subversions. For example, it has been said that Mother Goose nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill offer no resolution to problems - everybody just falls down and never gets back up again. True enough, I suppose. But if kids enjoy these little tales, and don't pick up on the "bad stuff", aren't they really just harmless rhymes. It's a subject that has been debated for many years, and probably will be for many years to come.

Kids of course, aren't much interested in such matters as underlying meanings; and as adults, we sometimes tend to overanalyze just about everything. There is a site on the web at http://www.mother.com/~prdesign/JackHorn... which tells the true meanings behind several popular Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, if you're interested in finding out more.

Actually, despite nursery rhymes' sullied reputation, a slew of studies since the mid-1980s has shown that rhymes directly contribute to a child's vocabulary and understanding of language. The better children are at detecting rhymes, the quicker and more successful their reading progress becomes. And as children get older, they progress from recognizing those large syllabic units to increasingly smaller, more subtle units of sound.

There are a few little things you can do to bring nursery rhymes even further to life in a child's eyes. For example, if the rhyme mentions a body part, touch it, shake it, even wiggle it. Or, if you see a picture of the word you are saying, point it out. If there is an action mentioned, mimic it, and most importantly...sing whenever possible.

A Final Note: For a really cute, "Modern Mother Goose" (which is available for purchase, but also has several samples online) visit http://www.bobstaake.com/bookmothergoose...

The copyright of the article Mother Goose - Friend of Fascist? in Children's Poetry is owned by Arden Davidson. Permission to republish Mother Goose - Friend of Fascist? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.