Humpty Dumpty given happy ending!
Nursery rhyme receives ‘politically correct’ makeover
If you were watching CBeebies programme Something Special on Friday with your little one and noticed something slightly odd about the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, that’s because the well-known words were altered.
Instead of being unable to “put Humpty together again”, the new version claimed all the King’s horses and all the King’s men “made Humpty happy again,” in an attempt to make the rhyme more cheerful.
But the BBC has been criticised for taking political correctness too far. “I very much doubt that any child has been traumatised by Humpty Dumpty or any other age-old nursery rhyme. Those who made the decision should replace political correctness with common sense,” said John Midgley, from the Campaign against Political Correctness.
The Something Special show is aimed at children with learning difficulties but is popular with all children under the age of 5. The BBC insisted the nursery rhyme had only been changed for creative purposes.
Tom Harris, a Labour MP and former transport minister, watched the show with his two sons, aged 5 and 3. “I do have a problem with sanitising nursery rhymes and cartoons for children. I think it’s becoming too much of a trend with the BBC.”
In a recent episode of Big Cook Little Cook, the tale of Little Miss Muffet ended with the little girl befriending the spider, rather than running away in fright.
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