Ever since the concept of nursery rhymes was developed they have been a part and parcel of every kid’s childhood. Their origin can be dated back to more than a hundred years. In the ancient times mothers sang lullabies to their children to put them off to sleep. It is a combination of sweet sounds like la la , lu lu and the bye which mothers used in the ancient times. Versus associated with birth of Jesus Christ were also sung. During the mid sixteenth century these lullabies were recorded in English plays and the eighteenth century onwards these have been published as nursery rhymes books. These rhymes or lullabies come from a variety of sources like traditional riddles, poems, Ballards, historical plays, rituals ancient stories etc.
Came the nineteenth century and the popularity of these rhymes began to spread across the globe. Some of the earliest and most popular rhymes are” Twinkle Twinkle little star, Mary had a little lamb.” and these are still today the first ones that come to a parents mind
As years have passed by the meaning and purpose of these rhymes have changed. Rhymes are more of rhythmic words put together. They are taught to children in the age group of 3-7 years to teach them alphabets, numbers, basic vocabulary etc. This makes learning a lot of fun for the child. Teachers use child friendly mucis and actions to teach these and thus quicken up the learning process and make it extremely interesting for the children.
These rhymes are the first few things small children learn to speak. They are taught how to sing and recite those even before they enter school by the elders at home. The manner in which these small and cute kids recite these versus is simple adorable. Their sweet sound is very melodious and soothing to the years. Some of the most common and popular rhymes are
- Twinkle twinkle little star,
- Mary had a little lamb
- Hickory Dickory dock
- Jack and Jill
- Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
- Baba Baba black sheep
- Oranges and lemond
- Ring a Rng o Roses
- Rain /rain go away
- One two buckle my shoe
In India apart from the above self composed Hindi rhymes are also used. Prayers and bhajans are also frequently sung. The aim is to get the child to sleep as well as teach him these prayers at an early age.
Nursery rhymes are basically simple words put together to bring a smile on a child s face. Children love to recite these short and sweet versus and in turn win hearts of everyone around them with their innocent expressions and the sheer happiness they get after reciting the rhyme correctly. They are small and melodious songs chants of which keep the parent and the child happy.
