One in four Brits don't know a single nursery rhyme

The once accustomed tradition of parents singing nursery rhymes to their child is in danger of dropping out of modern day living.

When asked, it was revealed that more than one in four UK adults were unable to remember a whole nursery rhyme. With 37 per cent of parents admitting they rarely sing to their baby or toddler.

More than three quarters of parents agreed that singing to young children is a good way to help them learn to read however, 38 per cent would favour pop music over a nursery rhyme.

The research found that the parent’s age had a big part to play in the decline in the nursery rhyme. Four out of ten parents under the age of thirty were unable to remember a full rhyme. In comparison to 27 per cent of 55-64 year old parents.
It’s not only age that plays a part in the findings, it seems where you live also depends on the popularity of the use of nursery rhymes.

A staggering 36 per cent of parents living in London admitted to not knowing a single rhyme in full, with 33 per cent of parents in the Midlands not far behind them.

Keeping the nursery rhyme tradition going strong are parents in the South West. 76 per cent were able to complete at least one nursery rhyme, along with 74 per cent of Welsh parents.

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.”

The most popular nursery rhymes people did know were Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty and Ring-a-Ring O'Roses, although 71 per cent of parents were clueless about their historical meaning.

Joanne Barlow from Cartoonito, who led the survey, said, "It would be an incredible shame if nursery rhymes slip out of popular culture, particularly when song is proven to help young children learn."

WWW.GUARDIAN.CO.UK - 23RD JULY

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Last Modified: 03/08/2007

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