Some of the English nursery rhymes are negative.

Exactly! This was the particular rhyme my son was referring to and he was saying why on earth Humpty DUmpty should have had such a great fall and the picture he visualised and the impact it is likely to have on children.In fact he used the word'nightmare' too and here you are with a proof.I had never looked at the pictures and would just merrily sing them without even applying my mind. I had applied my mind to 'where are you going my pretty maid' because I had enacted this in my nursery class and was taught to look haughty and stomp my feet on the ground.

I agree with you that syllabic pronunciation and easy comprehension are the prime things to look for.Till yesterday, I had not spared even a moment's thought to the implications and just used to sing them for fun.I would continue to do so, taking it in the lighter vein. But, as someone had pointed out, the rhymes in our vernacular are very sweet ccalling the moon to run and come and bring flowers to the little child. This is very beautifully recited in Tamil and mothers show the moon while they give food to their little ones .

True! There are lovely rhymes in so many languages.And some of them are so sweet. Is your mother tongue Telugu?

We have the same rhyme in Telugu "Chanda mama rave" and I remember my son looking up to the sky with wonder on his little face, about the moon. The effect was same as in "Twinkle twinkle little star".

Children can just enjoy rhymes for the sake of music isn't it? I sing all sorts of songs to my grandson and he just enjoys the fun and tune in it along with THE animation on my face.

True.But I also feel that they can just learn it for the music and not words. Only on hindsight I suddenly realized the negative implications.

True. And the words 'ashes! ashes![as given in the orginal form] are not to my liking. We used to sing '"husha busha or husha husha ; we all fall down ""and bag on to the floor with a thump.

Yes, sad but goes a long way in highlighting children's innovative nature. From morbid occurrences to a play song! Hats off!

THat is absolutely right. We should look at it only for fun and the music and not go too deeply into the negative connotations.Sorry for the late comment.

Verses that have relevance to a particular era always lose their meaning when read in isolation.

No dear friend! I too love these rhymes and sing them till date. Litle Bopeep's lost sheep coming back to her with their little tails wagging behind them and Mary's lamb following her everywhere are cute indeed.I sing all the rhymes in proper tune too. SUddenly, this discussion yesterday at home, made me think of the meaning behind and comparing them with our verncular we realised that these had different implications; I do agree that they must not be taken seriously and must be enjoyed for the fun provided . In fact I am an ardent supporter of the ENglish language[have to be because English Literature is close to my heart]. We need to enforce the moral if the child asks us for explanations. I had not even given one serious moment' s thought to their meaning. So carried away was I by the tune and rhyme. Not to worry. My intention was not to poke holes in old endearing things.

sorry, dear friend, I guess I am being "grinchy" this morning, but truly I am getting a little "miffed" at all the the "political" correctness in this world. "Merry Christmas"...I am not supposed to say anymore--exchanged for Happy Holidays...or Glad Tidings! My national anthem has been changed to be politically correct...I have to be guarded about my own beliefs in my country..and where/how I express them. And I guess I just got agitated...now our Nursery Rhymes are being picked apart for their negative aspects! Do not turn on the T.V., and see the violence in children's programming! Do we not need to focus on that? By the bye, am trying to get into the spirit of the season..and promise to be a much happier person ..soon..LOL!

We definitely need to focus on violence shown to children pergamano! Chher up! Wish you a very very happy Christmas and a new year! Why that sense of gloom? Isn't your dear son with you this CHristmas?

I never kneww about this but used to enjoy going round and round with other friends. We used to coomplete it with 'Husha Busha, we all fall down!" and all the little girls would squat on the floor with a thump.This was very enjoyable.

Yes.Only on pondering about eh words I suddenly realised it but we should just allow children to enjoy the music and not go deeply into the meaning.Perhaps this may have been the motive too.

Ah! And you will find it very interesting to note that even in our region there is this reference to a "poochandi"[a horrible demon like man] who would grab children away if they behaved badly. He would come in with a sack. Strangely there is also a reference to "two-eyed man”; I myself remember this being used to my little brother. And once we grew up we asked my mother “everyone has two eyes; what is the threat here?' This is at least palatable. I can well imagine how your children would have loved the tickling. I have my little twenty month old grandson at home and I love it when he gets tickled because he dimples so charmingly.

Hiya kalav, Oh yes I think these things should not be taught to children they may well grow up with fear of something that does not exist even. Spanish sayings here are terrible as well like "El hombre del Saco" if I told you what it was about you would be horrified too. Basically the saying is that a man who used to kill children and use their body fat for I can´t remember what. So a lot of times when children do not behave they parents tell them the Sack man (El hombre del Saco) is coming to get them if they keep misbehaving or if they don´t go to sleep right away. Don´t you think that is very negative as well as this Man really did exist. I suppose that in other Countries there must be variations of something similar to that one. Perhaps three blind mice one is the worst one of all but I loved Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the spout, down came the rain, down came the rain and washed the spider out lol. I taught this one to my kids and used to pretend that a spider was climbing up the wall and all of a sudden it fell down on them and tickled them all over the place lol. They loved it when they were very small.xxx

I feel that they must be just enjoyed for the tune and fun and one should not go too deep into it. In our days we did not.

Well, maybe the parents should explain earlier all those rhymes are only for the tune and the cartoon are only for fun. Yeah, I guess children would not go deep in understanding the meaning.

Anything has a lesson and this needs to be taken in the proper perspective.It is easier for adults but when it is for children, a lot of effort s needed to achieve the right effect. In our days we never did think much of the negative impact.

Exactly. I too did not realise this earlier. However, I do agree with others here thta they should not be taken too seriously and only the lesson must be taken.

THanks for the link. Yesterday I was reading about these in wikipedia. Your link had many verses and very informative.

When you are an adult you understand the connotations much better. When it si the case of children , they just enjoy the music.

TRUE.I had never thought of it earlier. WHy should one put a baby in a tree/ --valid question . However, I have seen village folks make a bed out of a long saree or cloth and suspend it from a branch and make the baby sleep in comfort. But one ought not to do it when the wind is blowing.