‘Ageist’ nursery rhymes should be confined to history lessons, according to one expert, because they spread negative views of old people.
Kirsty Ketley, a parenting specialist from Surrey, argues that modern versions should be introduced that reflect ageing ‘more positively’.
Her claims follow a recent study that found more than half of traditional tales which reference age contain negative stereotypes.
‘I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’ suggests a possible decline of mental faculties, while ‘Desperate Dan’ hints at a lack of personal hygiene, the woke researchers claim.
Meanwhile, they even go so far as to argue that ‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe’ demonstrates a ‘callous approach to parenting’.
Ms Ketley agreed with the findings, saying in an Instagram post: ‘We absolutely should challenge stereotypes about ageing.
‘Children do build their understanding of the world from these tiny repeated narratives. If old always equals useless or confused then that’s going to shape their perception.
‘So would it not make sense to bring in more modern rhymes that reflect ageing – and the modern world in general – a bit more positively? And just keep the more traditional ones as part of cultural history lessons?’
In an Instagram post, Ms Ketley said it makes sense to ‘bring in more modern rhymes’. She also suggested keeping traditional tales ‘as part of cultural history lessons’
In a recently published study, researchers argued that the old man who bumps his head in ‘It’s Raining, It’s Pouring’ is depicted as a physically debilitated character
For the study, published in the journal JMIR Aging, researchers from the National University of Singapore analysed 735 unique nursery rhymes. Of the ones which mentioned age, 59 per cent do so negatively, analysis found.
Nursery rhymes are ‘powerful cultural artefacts capable of moulding thought processes’, the scientists said. And to combat this, children should be given ‘access to more accurate and nuanced stories about older adults’, they claim.
Physically debilitated
The popular children’s rhyme ‘It’s Raining, It’s Pouring’, references an old man who bumps his head and ‘couldn’t get up in the morning’.
This, the researchers argue, indicates he is a physically debilitated character.
Cognitively impaired
‘I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’ dates back decades and tells the story of an old woman who swallows a fly. She then goes on to swallow a spider to catch the fly, followed by a bird, then a cat, then a dog, followed by a goat, a cow and then a horse.
‘The repetitive and nonsensical nature of her actions suggests a possible decline of her mental faculties,’ the researchers wrote.
The repetitive and nonsensical actions of the ‘old lady who swallowed a fly’ suggests a possible decline of her mental faculties, the scientists said
‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe’ is a classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme about a poverty–stricken, overwhelmed mother with too many children, living in a giant shoe
The rhyme ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ also spreads negative views about ageing people, the team said. In this rhyme, old age is ‘insinuated as being a time of forgetfulness’, because the character visits several shops but seemingly forgets to buy her dog food.
Unhygienic
‘Old age is equated with unkemptness in ‘Desperate Dan’,’ the team said. ‘The character is classed as a ‘scruffy old man’.
‘The portrayal of him ‘wash(ing) his face in a frying pan’ and ‘comb(ing) his hair with the leg of a chair’ adds to the depiction of someone who neglects personal hygiene.’
They argue that this eccentric behaviour also suggests confusion and possibly cognitive decline or dementia.
Unlikeable
‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe’ is a classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme about a poverty–stricken, overwhelmed mother with too many children, living in a giant shoe.
The researchers argue that the part about giving them ‘broth without any bread’ and ‘whipping them all soundly’ emphasizes her callous approach to parenting.
The rhyme ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ also spreads negative views about ageing people, the team said, because she consistently forgets to buy food for her dog
‘Old Mother Leary’ is a rhyme about an Irish immigrant living in Chicago who was alleged to have started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in an accident involving her cow
Irresponsible
‘Old Mother Leary’ is a rhyme about an Irish immigrant living in Chicago who was alleged to have started the Great Fire of 1871 in an accident involving her cow.
This rhyme ‘portrays the protagonist as behaving impetuously’, the scientists said, adding: ‘Her wink as the fire breaks out implies she took pleasure in the ensuing chaos.’
‘The presence of negative age stereotypes in more than half of the rhymes raises important concerns about their potential impact on children’s beliefs,’ they concluded.
Positive portrayals of getting old appeared in a third of the nursery rhymes, the team revealed.
Examples of positive age stereotypes included being wise, affectionate and jovial, while neutral portrayals framed ageing as a natural part of life.
