The death of the nursery rhyme

Kids being deprived of the learning benefits of Humpty Dumpty


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Children as young as two are being bombarded with a cocktail of advertising jingles, TV theme tunes and pop music, meaning that traditional nursery rhymes could soon be a thing of the past.

Music is low down on the list of priorities for today's parents. Only 1 in 10 pre-school children attend music classes compared to nearly half who attend swimming classes according to new research by Jo Jingles. The leading pre-school music and movement group is launching a call to action to get families singing at home with their kids and for parental and child participation in music groups to be seen as of equal importance to swimming classes and gym tot activities.

Despite the Government's campaign to ramp up music in schools, nearly a third think it is already given enough priority in pre-school and primary provision. At home it is the same story. Fewer than 1 in 5 parents say their children are exposed to nursery rhymes in the home. As such they are not exposing their children to the sort of music that will have the most impact and benefits.

Most nursery rhymes adhere closely to the pentatonic scale (a musical scale with five notes in an octave): the instantly recognisable 'na, na, na-na, naa'. It has been shown by countless studies that children all over the world, no matter what their language or culture, respond innately to this structure.

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls has made it a priority to create a 'musical culture' in primary schools so that our children can reclaim our musical heritage.