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Apparently rope-jumping is suddenly all the rage during my little girl’s school recess. She came home the other day bursting to tell me how much fun she and her friends had while playing.
At the moment, I was simply thankful that she’d managed to negotiate rope-jumping without a trip to the emergency room. But later, while washing dishes, I recalled the recesses I’d spent jumping rope as a little girl. Did you jump rope? Do you remember?
In particular, I recalled one rhyme we’d chant while jumping.
I went outside to play,
I met a boy that day,
He gave me 50 cents,
To go behind the fence.He pushed me on the ground,
And pulled my panties down.
He counted 1-2-3,
And stuck it into me.My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise.
My father jumped for joy
To see a baby boy.
Good Lord.
That’s pretty horrifying, isn’t it? Did our teachers know? Did they care? Did they even listen to what we were saying, or were they only relieved that we were playing (relatively) quietly? Was their attention focused more on the rowdier kids? Would recess supervisors today put a stop to little girls chanting those words? Should they?
The idea of my 8-year-old self joyfully jumping while singing the above disturbs me greatly. The idea of my own child doing the same disturbs me even more.
I suppose it’s meant to be a warning. It’s a way to put the idea into the heads of little girls that they must be on guard around boys. The lesson is so crucial, I guess, that it must be taught at every opportunity, even during play.
The idea bothers me. I need to ask her what they are singing. Or else peek through the fence during recess.
Of course, being spied upon during recess by your mother brings its own psychological trauma.
