To believe “wind the bobbin up” is inappropriate and to ask my child’s Nursery not to sing it.

[coconuttella]

Wind the bobbin up originated in the cotton mill towns of the north of England in Victorian times. As anyone who knows a bit about a bit history can tell you, the cotton mills were horrendous places which horrifically exploited women and children, forcing them to do dangerous work in appalling conditions for little pay.

How can it be right to trivialise these horrors by getting children to sing a light-hearted ditty about it... It’s offensive to the memory of all those who suffered these horrendous conditions and experienced serious injury or even death as a result of hideously exploitative working practices.

I find twinkle twinkle little star offensive as it it factually incorrect, a star is not the same shape as a diamond. My child's grasp of shapes was severely damaged and I struggled to console them after singing it

Oh, Clap clap clap

But...Marx and Engels developed Marxism because of the working class mill workers in Manchester.

If you reject that song you reject Communism.

And remember. Jeremy is watching you.

And that one about Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher was about a mistress dumping a man who'd lost all his money apparently...

Wheels on the bus surely deserves a mention, what with most being diesel powered?

Your poor child Littleraincloud 🙁 are they ok now?

Let's not get started on Humpty Dumpty.

Outrageously eggist.

I find it an odd nursery rhyme that seems to end oddly.

Oh dear. How terrible. Take the child out of that nursery asap!
Or just chill out.

YANBU - they should sing ring a ring of roses.... at least the plague didn't discriminate against women and children

Hahahahahahahaha

Some of these are probably apocryphal, but they’ll put you off the whole repertoire of nursery rhymes.

I think you would be best just calming down though.

It could be offensive to people without knees.

Skowvegas yes it promotes violence against eggs. Children will just be pushing human eggs off walls everywhere.

So funny. You have no understanding of children’s literature or history. Being offended is your profession isn’t it OP?

@Skowvegas do you know there is actually no reference in the original text to Humpty Dumpty being an egg.

How dare you presume his....species?

Hahahaha

You're bonkers

@simonBridges yes! The tune doesn't resolve and the words don't either. I have always thought that.

It's interesting how horrible the origins of so many nursery rhymes are. Ring a ring of roses is about dying from the plague. Eeny meeny miny moe used to contain a disgusting slur, as did versions of Ten little Indians. Mary Mary quite contrary is about the torture of protestants by Mary I. Wind the bobbin up is no better or worse than any of these.

It's usually better to learn from the past than ban it. While it's a very good thing that those nursery rhymes containing racist slurs have been abandoned, the rest can be used as a useful springboard for teaching children about history imo.

Mill workers in Burnley used to commit suicide in the part of the the canal that was just outside the Mill as the water was warmer.

Shame that's not in the song.

....it's good for teaching floor , ceiling , window , working in a group , remembering words etc . If you want really dark stuff to get mad about have a look at a few fairy stories Hansel & Gretel = wicked Stepmother tries to kill children ; Jack & the Beanstalk = it's fine to steal & kill someone if they are big & ugly .

Of course, I’m not serious.... I just couldn’t resist starting this thread after reading on another thread how there seems to be some who believe we can’t reference that alludes to anything about slavery or concentration camps unless it is earnestly deals with their horrors.... And anyone who says it’s different is playing a distasteful game of atrocity top trumps!

Apologies MNHQ, this is a TAAT....

I find twinkle twinkle little star offensive as it it factually incorrect, a star is not the same shape as a diamond. My child's grasp of shapes was severely damaged and I struggled to console them after singing it

Um, you realise it was likened to a diamond because of twinkling, not shape?

And a diamond isn't a shape anyway...