Play and Folklore in Children’s Peer Cultures

Abstract

This article examines children’s creative production of and participation in a shared peer culture. Focusing on material on preschool children’s use of counting-out rhymes, faecal humour, and word play gathered in two Slovenian kindergartens by means of participant observation and video ethnography, the article demonstrates the importance of social participation in peer groups from an early age and the alliances, conflicts, and power hierarchies involved. Focusing on how children create and participate in children’s culture through interaction with other children in a peer group, ethnographic material is complemented by archival material on children’s folklore in Slovenia. By bringing together folkloristics and anthropological and sociological studies of children and childhoods, this article aims to bridge the gap between these disciplines to gain a more nuanced understanding of children’s worlds, and the role children’s folklore plays in the creation of and participation in children’s peer cultures.