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Hannah Corpuz

Mrs. Alstot

Children’s Literature Period 4

17 October 2019

Row Row Row Your Boat

The uplifting nursery rhyme, “Row Row Row Your Boat” is exceedingly well known

amidst all ages. The popular melody, as it is sung, “Row row row your boat, gently down the

stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream”, can leave children delighted and

content through its verses and lyrics. The nursery rhyme “Row Row Row Your Boat” contains a

historical meaning about life along with contributing to the emotional, social, and intellectual

development of children.

“Row Row Row Your Boat” asserts the theme of positivity and hard work throughout

life. Within the verses of the famous rhyme, lies a hidden significance of dedication and

determination. With the boat representing a person, “‘row row row’ signifies that you have to

work persistently to achieve your goals,” but also to not disregard the simple but admirable

things in life, revealed in “‘gently down the stream’” (“The History of Row”). The author applies

the words “persistently” and “gently” to reflect how people gravitate towards working

“persistently” for the duration of their life but if they “gently” slow down, they can be

demonstrated how magnificent life can be when they stop and view what they have

accomplished. This further proves how “Row Row Row Your Boat” encourages this

inspirational lesson that can be applied to children as they grow. Moreover, the happy song also

presents the message of cheerfulness displayed in the verse “‘Merrily merrily merrily’” where it
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heartens an optimistic demeanor “no matter how many hardships you face” throughout a lifetime

(“The History of Row”). The author exerts the words “merrily” and “hardships” to reveal how

maintaining a positive and “merry” outlook can prevent uneasiness and pessimism from the

“hardships” that will be encountered. “Row Row Row Your Boat” can influence a good mindset

on children and provide a positive message for people of all ages. This demonstrates how the

light-hearted song presents themes of optimism and determination for young children to gain

from.

Additionally, “Row Row Row Your Boat” contributes to the development of a zero to

two year old by supplying an assortment of vocabulary, allowing them to enhance their mood,

and broaden the connection with their caregivers. Reading and singing nursery rhymes benefits

the intellectual development and help establish good writers and readers. Gretchen Bernabei

states how the rhythmic verses can deepen “kids’ cognitive development” by the beneficial terms

that are given to children through “vocabulary nuggets” along with the usage of “structures from

nursery rhymes” (Bernabei 1). Bernabei utilizes the words , “vocabulary”, “cognitive”, and

“structures” to show how nursery rhymes can accommodate to the improvement in a child’s

“cognitive” state with the confrontation of new “vocabulary” and literary devices allowing them

to expand their terminology. Also, due to the “structure” or format of these rhymes, children can

utilize them for future writings for when they grow older. This yet displays how children can

benefit from “Row Row Row Your Boat” by adapting its literary terms and devices such as

repetition, simple and short sentences, and newfound terms such as “merrily”. The rhythm of

“Row Row Row Your Boat” also can provide assistance to a child’s social and emotional

development by having it be a matter of communication and being an aid to connection with the
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parent. Amanda Niland explains how the act of infant-directed singing has been associated with

“bonding and attachment” for it evokes the child’s mind when they interact. This is because it is

“an expressive nature and carries emotional messages” (Niland 5). Niland uses the phrases and

words “bonding” and “emotional messages” to exhibit how singing creates “bonds” between the

mother and child due to their spirited engagement, strengthening the relationship among the two.

Using singing as a form of communication also sparks “emotional messages” such as relaxing

and soothing the child, further securing the connection between them. This presents that

sing-along nursery rhymes just like “Row Row Row Your Boat” can manage and enhance a

child’s state of mind with its playful melody in addition to heightening the relationship between

caregiver and child through the interactive song. To conclude, “Row Row Row Your Boat”

provides emotional, social, and intellectual development through song and structure.

Overall, “Row Row Row Your Boat” comprises a compelling meaning of determination

and correlates to the growth of a young child through its cognitive, psychological and social

development. The historical idea of the popular nursery rhyme is shown as perseverance and

positivity through its profound lyrics which can be a valuable lesson for children. The nursery

rhyme also improves a child’s cognitive state through its vocabulary and structure along with

assisting in the emotional development by enlightening the child’s state of mind. It also deepens

the bond of the mother and child with its communication through song. As a result, the nursery

rhyme has demonstrated that it is a beneficial song for young children to learn and develop from

through its’ theme and lyrics.

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Works Cited

Bernabei, Gretchen. “5 Ways That Nursery Rhymes Can Prepare Our Kids for Life.”

WeAreTeachers,​ 20 Nov. 2017, www.weareteachers.com/nursery-rhyme-lessons-writing/.

Niland, Amanda. “‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’: Singing, Identity and Belonging in a Nursery.”

International Journal of Early Years Education​, vol. 23, no. 1, 2015, pp. 4–16.,

doi:10.1080/09669760.2014.992866.

“The History of Row Row Row Your Boat.” ​Nursery Rhymes For Babies,​ 6 Sept. 2017,

nurseryrhymesforbabies.com/the-history-row-row-row-boat/.