A Grimm Reminder: Tales from the Crib
I often stumble upon news articles lamenting that children witness too much violence on TV. I’m not here to argue whether that’s true or not, but I do think the authors of those articles are hypocrites. I mean, children have always been exposed to traumatizing amounts of violence. Why start caring now?
Exhibit A:
“Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.”
What kind of sicko dreams up putting a baby in a tree and letting the wind play havoc? Surprisingly, this literal death threat has been around since 1765, and yet parents happily serenade their little ones with it, wearing grins like it’s all sunshine and rainbows.
I mean, close your eyes and actually envision what this nursery rhyme is saying. I imagine Jigsaw from the Saw movies rubbing his hands in glee, waiting for the cradle’s bough to snap. And in the background, Rob Zombie is belting out “Let the Babies Hit the Floor.”
What the hell did the baby ever do, anyway? It’s not like he deserved this horrible treatment. What crimes can a person commit at five months? Pooping in a diaper isn’t frowned upon until you’re at least thirty.
And did you know “Rock-A-Bye Baby” is touted as one of the first poems ever written on American soil? Well, sheesh. That was quite the promising start for the country.
But let’s get back to the point. Long before TV shows and video games were scarring children, we had Mother Goose, or as I like to call her, Murderer Goose.
Murderer Goose is also the mastermind behind classics like “Jack and Jill.” You know, the one where Jack severely injures his head and Jill spasms uncontrollably while plummeting to her death.
And then there’s “Humpty Dumpty.” The main character, the hero, takes a tumble off a wall, and bam! His innards go splat all over the King’s men. No little kid should be subjected to this. It’s cruel, and besides, the pain sounds egg-cruciating.
We’ve been force-feeding our children a diet of violence since birth. Maybe we should slap a legal disclaimer on these tales, just for laughs. How about: “Hansel and Gretel: Rated C for Cannibalism.”
All jokes aside, violence has been part of children’s lives for quite some time now. Television, ironically, might be the only opportunity for kids to see any happiness at all.
117 Comments
Nancy
I can`t believe that I`m saying this, but I seriously did forget what the first one was… But I remember going there on November 5, 2008. I remember! The Lady with all of the answers! I only remember her answering these mails and stuff, then that`s all… I think. Luckily I didn`t go to the 3rd one on June. Only because there was 3 field trips that day for me. All of them seemed boring… 🙁
Christine
I like this post, a lot!! I took a Fairy Tale class a few years ago and the stories were scarier than some of the movies I watch on a regular basis, and I am a big horror buff. The Juniper Tree and Bluebeard's Egg are two good ones that scared the crap out of me, and I was 18 when I read them.
I think that violence is just part of life, and parents just need to chill out and allow their kids to experience things. More often than not, these censor happy parents are going to watch their kids rebel once they get old enough to realize what they are being deprived of.
Emilka
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Isi
The confidence thing working a little bit but not a lot.
Holly
opps, sorry! I will upload it to my own server. Sorry!
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Nancy
Lucky! They don`t really student rush tickets here that I know of. But there is a theater called the Pasadena Playhouse. Students can go there for free at times. Went to see 2 shows there once. One was about 2 sisters fighting over a rare& expensive stamp, and the other one… I honestly don`t remember….
Nancy
The Disney concert hall has live concerts by orchestras, jazz, &all sorts of musicians worldwide. With the famous conductors& stuff. Love them. Went there twice 🙂 &across the street from that is a theater with broadway shows? This season`s theme is Mary Poppins. Though I love the show from before, Phantom of the Opera. The thing I hate about it, is the ticket prices. 200 dollars for the back seat.
Larissa
Thanks for your comment on my blog! 😀
Your post made me laugh, I never noticed any of that before. When I think about it those nursery rhymes are really sick! Personally I think children are less sensitive to violence on TV anyway. And watching Pokemon never did me any harm. haha 😀
<3
Nancy
Here in LA, the only arts related I know of is Disney`s concert hall. Though, that`s more of a musical like thing… 🙁 I believe in you! Watch, when it happens, I`ll be like, "Oh my god! I know that actor, Justin! I used to blog with that guy!!!"
🙁 Always leave it to FOX! To mess things up! YouTube is the next source! I always feel as if something`s heavy in the upper level& it`ll someday collapse to downstairs. It`s my paranoia. LOL,
Shur
Your captcha font is so bigass it actually scared me.
And thanks – for what you commented on my fan site. Yeah, Taylor turns 18 in about a month. February 11. 🙂
Sorry I took so long to reply you, I actually missed your comment the last time I was on my commenting spree. 🙁
God, you're right. Rachel Ray is probably the only good show on tv for kids nowadays.
Stephine
Haha, yeah, it's hard NOT getting attached!
I agree, all of those old bedtime riddles and things sung to kids, they have some pretty horrible violence hidden beneath it all, lol. Like Ring aroudn the Rosie, it's about the Black Plague.
Tricia
I totally agree with you especially about the song. We actually had a small debate in class regarding that. It really sounds insane.
Asmiya
It has been pretty good, I guess. Not really. I've only been studying more, but nothing else according to my resolutions. XD
I'm not from an English-speaking country so I've more listened to Bangla poems and stuff. I think those poems with violence are not that great for children. It's almost the same as showing violence to children on the TV.
Leanne
Wow! Nursery rhymes are pretty violent. It's just weird how parents sing it to their children with big smiles on their faces. Plus there's all this news about people thinking that there's too much violence in TV shows when parents are singing violent nursery rhymes.
I actually haven't seen Saw so I can't really picture what you picture when you think about "Rock-A-Bye Baby". :/
Geez, there's so many violent nursery rhymes. This actually made me think of "Ring Around the Rosey" when I read this blog. I mean Ring Around The Rosey isn't a good children song either. :/
Ashleenah-Page
I never really thought about how violent nursery rhymes were. Now I'm never teaching my kids nursery rhymes. Lol.
Yes, I used to go clubbing illegally a lot. It was so easy, most clubs here want girls so guys will want to go in so you just show some cleavage or wear slutty clothes and you're in.
Thank you for the birthday wish. (:
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