Rock-A-Bye Baby (Who Puts A Baby In A Tree?) And Other Simple Nursery Rhymes Have Hidden Meanings To Help Children Avoid Concussions
Have you ever listened to a nursery rhyme and thought to yourself, why does everyone get hurt or die?
A research scientist from the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania has challenged whether nursery rhymes were written to teach children manners and morals or help them prevent head injuries.
In a recently published article in BMJ, one of the world’s top five most cited general medical journals, since 1840, seven seemingly harmless nursery rhymes were reviewed and paralleled to the real-life consequences of hitting your head.
The seven nursery rhymes are listed below.
Humpty Dumpty, an egg, similar to a human head, gets a skull fracture from falling off a wall.
Jack and Jill, a boy, gets a skull fracture from falling down a hill.
Rock-a-Bye Baby, an infant left in a cradle placed up high, falls from a tree. We can only guess what happens to him.
Ring a Ring o’ Roses, children stand in a circle, fall on the ground, possibly causing head injuries.
Five Little Monkeys, small monkeys, hit their heads after jumping on a bed, possibly fracturing their skulls.
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Goosey Goosey Gander, an old man, may have a skull fracture from getting assaulted and thrown down the stairs.
It’s Raining, it’s Pouring, an old man gets a head injury from hitting his head, possibly a concussion.
Communicating in general with small children is difficult. Conveying danger has to be discreet and elaborate to get the point across. Nursery Rhymes are short, easy to remember, and promote vivid imagery, triggering the imagination and repetitive learning skills to maintain hidden intentions.
After reading the rhymes, they seem geared towards action, followed by a consequence, which is a fundamental lesson of childhood.
But, taking a step further and describing each in detail creates more of a safety PSA than a lesson of morals and manners. Unfortunately, though, in my opinion, Goosey Goosey Gander is the exception. I mean, don’t assault or throw anyone down the stairs. It’s just not nice.
How many nursery rhymes do you know by heart? Maybe you held hands with your schoolmates singing Ring-A-Round the Roses while dancing around in a circle. Then, the song stopped, and you flopped flat on the ground like a rag doll, laughing hysterically.
Ring-a-round-roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo (or Ashes, Ashes)!
We all fall down
Well, do you know why it was written? It’s about the great outbreak of bubonic and pneumonic plagues of 1665! I guess the rhyme wouldn’t flow so lovely if the words were replaced with:
Praying around the rosary or deadly red rashes that look like roses,
Posies, flowers used to cover up the stink of death,
A-tishoo (sounds like a sneeze) or Ashes (what you get from burning)
We all fall and die someday.
It’s interesting to think these sweet-sounding poems have underlying meanings. It’s a bonus you can learn how not to get a concussion by avoiding walls and hills.
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