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Childlore

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Syrian children playing in a New York City street
Children dancing in Geneva. © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA
Children in a village playing rope jumping

Childlore is a branch of folklore comprising the cultural expressions, practices, and traditions developed and shared by children, generally during middle childhood and early adolescence.[1]: 218–228  Distinct from adult-mediated forms such as fairy tales or lullabies, childlore emerges autonomously within peer groups through informal interaction in playgrounds, schools, neighbourhoods, and through digital culture.[2]: 10 [3]

It encompasses a wide range of verbal, physical, and social forms, including riddles, nursery rhymes, jokes, pranks, superstitions, magical play, nicknames, storytelling, and art, transmitted and adapted without adult instruction.[4] From English rhymes like "Ring Around the Rosie" to Japanese warabe uta and Mexican corridos infantiles, childlore reflects children’s creativity, cultural adaptation, and evolving socialisation across diverse global traditions.[5][6]

Academic interest in childlore began in the 19th century with collections like Mother Goose's Melodies and was later systematised by folklorists such as Iona and Peter Opie, who conducted extensive fieldwork in British schools.[7] Researchers today study childlore not only as cultural artefact but also as a vehicle for language acquisition, emotional resilience, cooperation, and identity formation.[8]

Contemporary childlore continues to evolve, shaped by parental supervision, urbanisation, and digital technology. Events like the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated shifts from outdoor group play to online forms such as 'TikTok challenges' and virtual storytelling.[9] Despite these changes, childlore endures as a dynamic and adaptive expression of childhood across cultures.[10]: 150 [11]

Definition and scope

[edit]

Childlore refers to the body of folklore created, performed, and transmitted by children—typically between the ages of 6 and 15—through peer-to-peer interaction independent of adult guidance.[1]: 218–228 [12] Unlike adult-mediated traditions such as fairy tales or lullabies, childlore arises organically within child-centred environments like playgrounds, classrooms, and neighbourhoods, reflecting children's creativity, social dynamics, and cultural values.[2]: 10 

It encompasses a diverse range of expressive forms, including games, riddles, nursery rhymes, oral tales, jokes, and superstitions—transmitted informally and frequently adapted within peer communities.[4] A defining characteristic of childlore is its autonomy from adult instruction, highlighting children’s agency in shaping their own cultural ecosystems.[12]

In Western societies, childlore is most prevalent during primary school years, typically declining as children transition into adolescence and adopt more adult social frameworks.[1][page needed] Yet it is by no means culturally uniform. Examples such as clapping games in Armenia, Yoruba riddles in Nigeria, and corridos infantiles (children’s ballads) in Mexico illustrate its varied global manifestations.[6][13]

Common elements across traditions include play, humour, mimicry, and ritual, serving developmental functions such as socialisation, emotional regulation, and identity construction.[14] While distinct from adult folklore, childlore may intersect with it—especially in cases like nursery rhymes passed on by parents, or folklore-influenced media content.[4]

Scholars emphasise its informal and improvisational character, often spread through mimicry and repetition—seen in widely recurring games like tag or playground rhymes such as "Ring Around the Rosie."[15] Contemporary researchers view childlore as a fluid and evolving cultural form, responsive to shifting societal conditions, including technology, surveillance, and urbanisation.[10]: 12 

Forms of childlore

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Childlore encompasses a wide range of expressive forms developed and transmitted among children through peer interaction, reflecting their creativity, social relationships, and cultural environments.[2]: 10  These forms include nursery rhymes, games, riddles and jokes, superstitions and beliefs, and oral narratives and fantasies, each serving distinct social, cognitive, or emotional functions.[4] While expressions vary across cultures, common features such as repetition, humour, and improvisation make them easily transmissible within peer groups.[5]

Nursery rhymes

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Nursery rhymes are short, rhythmic poems or songs shared by children, often featuring repetition, rhyme, and playful or absurd imagery.[8] These rhymes are commonly passed on orally among children or from adults, often without fixed authorship, and are considered a cornerstone of childlore.[16]

Ring a Ring o' Roses (1886) by Ettore Tito, depicting a traditional children's circle game.

The term "nursery rhyme" dates back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Britain, where collections such as "Mother Goose's Melody" (1780) began to codify orally transmitted verses into print.[17] The phrase “Mother Goose” itself has older French origins, appearing in Jean Loret’s 17th-century chronicle La Muse Historique.[18] In English-speaking countries, "Mother Goose" became synonymous with anonymous children's rhymes that blend absurdity, repetition, and rhythm.

The anthropological study of nursery rhymes treats them as both literary and performative artefacts. The seminal 1950s study, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona and Peter Opie, identified two broad types: rhymes essential to the structure of children’s games and peer interactions, and those which are expressions of imaginative or humorous exuberance.[19]: 61  Rhymes are often used by children to fill silences, express emotions indirectly, or navigate social boundaries, independently of adult instruction.[19][page needed]

For example, this rhyme was recorded in the 1950s from schoolchildren in Britain:

I'm a knock-kneed chicken and a bow-legged sparrow,
I missed my bus so I went by barrow.
I went to the cafe for my dinner and my tea,
Too many radishes—Hick! Pardon me.

Such rhymes often lack conventional meaning but persist through their humorous rhythm and sound play. Children are drawn to their sonic texture, repetition, and unexpected imagery.

Modern examples include English-language classics like "London Bridge is Falling Down", and U.S. jump-rope chants like "Cinderella, dressed in yella".[20] In Mexico, "Cielito Lindo" functions both as a lullaby and social song among children.[6] While many nursery rhymes are transmitted through adult instruction, others, particularly those used in clapping or skipping games, evolve through child-led oral transmission and peer imitation.[21]

Cross-linguistic studies have shown that nursery rhymes across cultures often conform to predictable rhythmic patterns known as isochronic metre—repeating stress intervals with varying numbers of unstressed syllables in between.[5] These patterns help children internalise phonological rules before formal literacy is acquired. A 1987 study demonstrated a strong correlation between early nursery rhyme knowledge and phonemic awareness, foundational for reading acquisition.[22]

Illustration from Rhythmic Action Plays and Dances (1916), showing early 20th-century children's movement games set to nursery rhymes.

Aside from cognitive development, nursery rhymes also foster emotional and social bonding. Many incorporate gestures or group movement (e.g. circling, clapping), promoting cooperation and shared ritual. Rhymes like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Jack and Jill" subtly convey resilience through narrative, while others—such as "Ring a Ring o' Roses"—are often performed communally, reinforcing social unity.[8][23]

Though often dismissed as trivial, nursery rhymes encode cultural norms, taboos, and humour, revealing how children navigate the world through rhythm and play.[24] Their global ubiquity and generational persistence make them a central component of childlore.[25][26]

Games

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Children’s games—such as tag, hide-and-seek, British Bulldog and clapping games—are a core component of childlore, promoting physical activity, coordination, cooperation, and peer-driven rule-making.[2]: 27 [27] Traditional playground handbooks note that these games function as elaborate social rituals transmitted by peers, with rules often fluid and improvised.[28]

Children playing hide-and-seek, a traditional and globally recognised game.

Clapping games like "Pat‑a‑Cake" or Armenian "Tsap Tsap Bilobil" involve rhythmic movement matched to chants, reinforcing social bonding and timing skills.[1][page needed][28] Storytelling games in Ghana, based on the tales of Ananse, blend lore and play to transmit cultural narratives.[20] Similarly, Japanese kagome kagome integrates singing, roleplay, and spatial coordination, fostering collective focus and cultural transmission.[29]

Simple chase games also persist in numerous varieties. In Minnesota, “Duck, Duck, Gray Duck” demonstrates regional adaptation of the classic "Duck, Duck, Goose" ritual.[30]In other areas, "Kiss chase" illustrates flirtatious social experimentation among primary-aged children.[19]: 308 [31]

A playful social ritual in playgrounds involves holding one’s hand above another child’s head, silently counting, then announcing the number of “girlfriends” or “boyfriends” they have, prompting amused embarrassment and peer bonding.[32] In the "line‑dot electric shock" game, one child traces “line, line… dot, dot…” on another’s back, culminating in a mock “electric shock.” The tactile ritual induces goosebumps and playful fright, demonstrating how multisensory suggestion enhances social play.[33][34]: 111 

In digital contexts, games like Minecraft inspire elaborate roleplay narratives that mirror and extend traditional forms of childlore. Children co-create virtual worlds, developing collective stories, enacting social scenarios, and engaging in performances reminiscent of playground culture.[35]: 45  These digital environments provide new platforms for folk creativity, where children repurpose in-game mechanics to simulate schools, towns, or fantasy quests, preserving peer-led oral traditions through modern interfaces.[10]: 142 

Non-verbal acts

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Non-verbal expressions, including taunting gestures, hand signs, and body postures, form a vital part of childlore, enabling children to convey social meaning beyond spoken language.[36] These gestures serve as tools for teasing, asserting dominance, challenging authority, or delineating in-group and out-group boundaries. Familiar examples include sticking out the tongue, the "thumb-to-nose and wiggling fingers" gesture, and hand signs designed to mock, insult, or provoke peers. Shared widely across linguistic and regional boundaries, these gestures are typically learnt informally through peer interactions rather than adult guidance.[37]

Child sticking out toungue. Non-verbal behaviours, such as gestures, are often part of child social dynamics.

As non-verbal acts, these expressions often evade adult supervision or reprimand, allowing children to subtly test social boundaries or express resistance with remarkable impact. Scholars emphasise the enduring nature of these behaviours across generations, underscoring their role in transmitting cultural norms, humour, and social dynamics within childhood peer groups.[38]

Riddles and jokes

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Riddles and jokes serve as verbal challenges and humorous exchanges, encouraging creativity, linguistic agility, and social bonding.[10]: 85  Riddles such as “What has keys but can’t open locks? (A piano)” promote lateral thinking, while knock-knock jokes and playground puns foster conversational timing.[2] In Yoruba culture, riddles like “What is always ahead but never moves? (Your nose)” reflect cultural values such as respect and wisdom.[13] These forms often serve both entertainment and social positioning within peer groups.[4]

A notable example of verbal play is the "Name Game" or "Banana Song", popularised in the 1960s by Shirley Ellis. The chant transforms a person’s name into a rhyming formula: “Daniel, Daniel, bo-banian / Banana-fana fo-fanian / Fee-fi-mo-maniel / Daniel!”[39] Though it originated in commercial music, the chant is widely adopted in playgrounds as a tool for linguistic creativity and group humour.

Superstitions and beliefs

[edit]

Children’s superstitions include informal rituals and symbolic practices passed among peers, often reflecting mock-serious belief in magical consequences.[10][page needed] Common examples include sayings like “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back” or fears of “cooties,” with gestures or chants used to repel imagined contagion.[14] In African contexts, children may perform chants to summon or repel weather, asserting agency within their cultural environments.[13] Superstitions also manifest in nickname rituals or taboo behaviours that structure playground hierarchies.[20]

A child blowing a dandelion, a common act in childlore believed to grant wishes.

In the United Kingdom, France and Canada, a common folk belief claims that picking or touching dandelions will cause bedwetting.[40][41]Though the plant's diuretic properties are real, the warning is passed on as a magical threat among children[19]: 270  Another popular belief holds that if a buttercup held beneath a person's chin reflects yellow, it “proves” that they like butter—a playful example of mock divination.[19]: 271  A more widely‑shared element of childlore involving dandelions is blowing on dandelion seed‑heads while making a silent wish; a folk practice said to send one's hopes or messages on the wind. Children often believe that if all the seeds drift away in one breath, their wish will come true.[42][43]

A further superstitious example involves the warning: “If the wind changes, your face will stay like that,” said to children making grotesque facial expressions. Though often voiced by adults, the phrase is recycled in peer groups as a form of humorous threat that reinforces social expectations.[44]

Oral stories and fantasies

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Oral stories and imaginative narratives allow children to explore fear, power, and morality through fictional play.[10][page needed] These include urban legends such as "Bloody Mary", “Charlie Charlie”, and other characters such as Slenderman in many Western countries, Ghanaian folktales of Ananse the spider, or Mexican cuentos like those of La Llorona.[20][6] Stories are often shared in group settings or during transitional periods, providing a space for emotional rehearsal and social bonding.[14]

These child-created legends thrive in liminal spaces, such as sleepovers, school camps, and digital chatrooms, where authority is temporarily suspended and children experiment with taboo themes or imagined danger.[45]: 18  In contemporary settings, urban legends increasingly migrate online, where digital retellings sustain oral folklore in new hybrid forms.

Cultural forms and cross-cultural parallels

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Children's games between girls on a playground in Nigeria. This game is to choose in a circle one or a dance partner with hands on the hip while singing "A day the lion is sick"

Childlore reflects the diverse languages, values, and social structures of global childhoods, unified by universal traits like repetition, humour, and peer-to-peer transmission.[5] Across cultures, it employs simple, isochronic structures to facilitate memorisation and adaptation, serving as a dynamic mirror of local identities and shared human experiences.[14] From European playgrounds to Asian kampongs, childlore fosters socialisation, creativity, and cultural continuity through rhymes, games, riddles, stories, and beliefs.

Rhymes and games across cultures

[edit]

Nursery rhymes and games, often rhythmic and physical, teach coordination and group cohesion. In English-speaking regions, "Ring Around the Rosie" accompanies circle games, while U.S. jump-rope rhymes like "Cinderella, Dressed in Yella" encourage improvisation.[20][46] German rhymes like "Hoppe, Hoppe, Reiter" pair with bouncing games, reinforcing rhythm.[47][48] French counting rhymes, such as "Un, Deux, Trois, Nous Irons au Bois," guide hide-and-seek in Southern France, emphasizing teamwork.[49][50] In Singapore, kampong games like "five stones" use pebbles to develop dexterity, reflecting resourcefulness in post-war communities.[51][52] Japanese warabe uta in kagome kagome blend song and movement, tied to seasonal rituals and harmony.[53][54] Chinese nursery rhymes, like "Little Rabbit, Open the Door," accompany clapping games, promoting language acquisition.[5]

Riddles and stories across cultures

[edit]

Riddles and oral stories embed cultural wisdom and foster verbal creativity. Yoruba riddles, such as “What is always ahead but never moves? (Your nose),” teach respect for elders, while Ghanaian "Ananse" games weave trickster tales into play, imparting moral lessons.[13][20] Russian riddles, like “What has a neck but no head? (A shirt),” strengthen community ties through playful exchanges.[55] Mexican cuentos of La Llorona, shared among peers, explore cultural fears and family loyalty.[6] Indian children play riddle games like “What flies without wings? (Time),” encouraging philosophical thinking.[14] Brazilian children share tales of Saci Pererê, a one-legged trickster, during sleepovers, blending indigenous and African influences [56][10]: 90  These narratives provide safe spaces for children to process emotions and cultural identities.

Superstitions and beliefs across cultures

[edit]

Superstitions and beliefs reflect local anxieties and social norms, often expressed through chants or rituals. British “cooties” lore uses rhymes to navigate social boundaries, reinforcing peer group dynamics.[10][page needed] German children avoid stepping on cracks, believing it brings bad luck, similar to U.S. superstitions.[57] Armenian clapping games like "Tsap Tsap Bilobil" emphasise collective identity through synchronised chants.[1]: 218–228  In India, children recite charms to ward off the “evil eye,” reflecting spiritual beliefs.[14] Chinese children believe stepping on a shadow weakens the soul, using rhymes to avoid harm.[5] These practices, while culturally distinct, share functions like teaching caution or establishing social hierarchies, highlighting childlore’s role in shaping childhood experiences worldwide.[14]

Research and study

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The academic study of childlore, a subfield of folklore, began in the 19th century with early compilations such as Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826) and Mother Goose's Melodies (c. 1765), which documented children’s rhymes and games via oral transcription.[1]: 218–228  In the late 19th century, scholars such as Alice Gomme systematised the field, producing detailed catalogues like The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1894), which emphasised cultural continuity through peer-to-peer transmission.[58] These early efforts distinguished childlore from adult-imposed narratives, underscoring its autonomy within children's communities.[4]

Mid-20th century research transformed the field with the work of Iona and Peter Opie, who conducted extensive fieldwork in British schools. Their landmark study The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959) applied ethnographic techniques including interviews and audio recordings, centring children’s perspectives and capturing play in context.[7][19]: 5  In parallel, Dorothy Howard undertook similar work in the United States and Australia, documenting playground customs and regional distinctions in children's play.[59] These studies illuminated the socialising role of childlore and the ways in which children construct cultural identity.[12]

Steve Roud, Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society and creator of the Roud Folk Song Index, has also contributed significantly to the study of childlore. His book The Lore of the Playground (2010) explores the rhymes, games, and rituals transmitted among British children over the past century, including enduring chants such as "eeny, meeny, miny, mo," as well as traditional games like British Bulldog, conkers, skipping, and tag. Roud's work emphasises the resilience of certain play customs and the strong regional variation of others, illustrating how oral transmission has preserved some traditions while allowing others to fade.[34]: ix–xii [1]: 221 

In recent decades, scholars have adopted diverse methodologies, integrating digital humanities and cross-cultural frameworks. Projects like the Play Observatory (2020–2022) employed online surveys and child-led media to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on play, revealing a shift toward solitary and indoor activities.[9] Digital archives such as the British Library’s “Playtimes” and the Opie Archive reflect this evolution, preserving folklore through video, audio, and interactive tools.[60]

Social media platforms now function as new folklore spaces: children adapt traditional material into formats suited to TikTok, YouTube, messaging apps, and vlogs, what has been described as “digital folklore” or “networked folklore.”[10]: 120 [61][62] This phenomenon enables collaborative authorship and accelerates the transformation of content in real time, transmitting lore globally.[63] Emerging research among urban Anglophone Indian children shows how playground rhymes and songs mix traditional and colonial-era content through peer-led creativity, paralleling the remix cultures now visible online.[64]

Cross-cultural scholarship has significantly enriched the field. Studies of warabe uta (Japanese children’s songs), the shichi-go-san rite of passage, and Edo-period education have shown how music, ritual, and socialisation intersect in Japanese childlore.[65][66][67][68] Comparative studies of Yoruba recreational chants, Armenian clapping games, and Chinese poetic forms have further revealed rhythmic and structural universals, affirming childlore’s linguistic richness and global resonance.[13][5][20]

Impact on child development

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Childlore profoundly shapes children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural development, equipping them with lifelong skills across diverse cultures.[8][69] Through peer-driven rhymes, games, riddles, stories, and superstitions, children develop language, cooperation, resilience, and identity, with effects documented globally.[12][14]

Cognitive development

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Childlore enhances cognitive skills like language acquisition and problem-solving. Nursery rhymes, such as English "Rain Rain Go Away" or Mexican "Cielito Lindo," use rhythmic repetition to boost phonological awareness, vocabulary, and memory.[8][6] Yoruba riddles like “What is always ahead but never moves? (Your nose)” sharpen critical thinking and linguistic dexterity.[13] Games like Singaporean "five stones" or German "Hoppe, Hoppe, Reiter" develop fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, and strategic planning, fostering neural growth.[70][47][71]

Social development

[edit]

Childlore promotes cooperation, communication, and peer relationships. Clapping games like Armenian "Tsap Tsap Bilobil" or French "Un, Deux, Trois, Nous Irons au Bois" encourage teamwork and group cohesion, teaching children to navigate social roles.[1]: 218–228 [72][73] U.S. “cooties” lore or Russian riddles like “What has a neck but no head? (A shirt)” help children negotiate social hierarchies, reinforcing group identity.[10]: 85 [74] Japanese kagome kagome fosters collective harmony through synchronised play.[75][76]

Emotional regulation

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Childlore provides safe spaces to process emotions and build resilience. Stories like Ghanaian Ananse tales or Mexican La Llorona cuentos allow children to explore fears, moral dilemmas, and empathy through narrative play.[20][6][77] Superstitions, such as U.S. crack-avoidance or Chinese shadow-stepping rhymes, help manage anxieties by ritualising control over uncertainties.[10][page needed][5][69] These practices foster emotional stability and coping skills.

Cultural identity

[edit]

Childlore embeds cultural values, shaping identity. Rhymes like "Cielito Lindo" reinforce Mexican familial pride, while Singaporean "five stones" reflects post-war resourcefulness.[6][78] Japanese warabe uta promote harmony, and Yoruba riddles instill respect for elders.[79][13] By engaging in these traditions, children internalise cultural norms, fostering belonging and pride.[14][12]

Modern influences and changes

[edit]

Childlore has evolved under digital media, globalisation, and societal shifts, yet retains its peer-driven essence.[10]: 120 

Japanese children playing together online, illustrating contemporary playground culture.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the migration of play to digital spaces, with children turning to online games and platforms to recreate traditional interactions.[35][page needed]

In platforms like Minecraft and Runescape, children co-create virtual schools, homes, and communities, engaging in folklore-like storytelling and spatial play.[35][page needed] TikTok and YouTube similarly serve as arenas for "synchronous folklore", where children remix nursery rhymes, enact urban legends, or participate in viral challenges.[35][page needed][20]

In Singapore, playground chants are increasingly infused with pop culture references, such as superhero characters or Western memes, layered onto local games like “five stones”.[80]

Globalisation also enables the blending of traditions, Japanese warabe uta clapping rhythms influence playground games in the West, while Mexican corridos infantiles appear in urban U.S. contexts.[81][6]

Urbanisation and increased screen time have shifted many forms of childlore indoors or online. Yet research from the UK and Canada confirms that the core folkloric traits, improvisation, parody, repetition, taboo exploration, persist across mediums.[9][35][page needed]

Children continue to reinterpret older forms through new technologies, ensuring the resilience and adaptability of childlore in the 21st century.[14][8]

References

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Further reading

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