The mother goose syndrome—Alighthearted look at paediatric literature

Abstract

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION, Mrs Thatcher, has announced increased expenditure on nursery education. As the major planks to which our future well-being will be nailed are laid down in the nursery, it is vital that the foundations of knowledge which a child gains in the nursery are correct. A wide and stimulating range of experiences should be provided. More and more of our colleagues are attending courses on child development yet I wonder how much they are taught on these courses about the benefit of the spoken word and written'language on a child's mental development? Unfortunately I have not managed to see the T.V. p r o g r a m m e Sesame Street which many experts rate excellent as mental stimulation for pre-school children. One of the children's television programmes that I enjoy seeing is Tales of the Riverbank. I am sure that programme must have somewhere in its pedigree Kenneth Grahame's book The Wind in the Willows, as the main characters are water rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, etc. Walt Disney made a cartoon film of The Wind in the Willows but perhaps Disney is best remembered for creating that most lovable character Mickey Mouse in 1928. Many authors of children's books (A. A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, etc.) have written about animals beloved and often kept as pets by children, such as mice, etc.--being a Scotsman I naturally think of the poem by Burns To a Mouse---though probably the most famous poem featuring rodents is that by Robert Browning The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Incidentally, the Pied Piper could be considered as one of the first instances where ultrasound was used as a control measure for rodent infestation, even though according to legend it happened in 1284! Nowadays I suppose Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse are more famous than all the other animals in children's literature put together! Perhaps it is as well that no mention is made in the books of the various diseases-zoonoses--which can spread from animals to humans. Most children seem to be aware of the poem: I love little pussy, Her coat is so warm, And if I don't hurt her She'll do me no harm