Round and Round the Garden

"Round and Round the Garden" is a tickle game in miniature: a finger circles the baby's palm, "walks" two steps up the arm, and pounces with a tickle "under there." The teddy bear in the rhyme dates it, the toy was named after Theodore Roosevelt only in 1902, and older versions used a hare.

Origins

The song is cataloged under number 19235 in the Roud Folk Song Index. While similar play rhymes existed in British folklore earlier, this specific version featuring a "teddy bear" was first documented in the late 1940s. The reference to a teddy bear confirms its twentieth-century development, as the term itself was only coined in 1902 after Theodore Roosevelt.

Folklorists Iona and Peter Opie suggested that the song is a modern adaptation of an older nineteenth-century tickling rhyme. One such older variant recorded in the 1940s featured a hare rather than a bear: "Round about there, went a little hare; the bow-wows came and chased him, right up there!"

Meaning & Interpretation

The lyrics are accompanied by simple physical movements that encourage tactile play. While reciting the first line, the adult uses a finger to draw gentle circles on the child's open palm. On the third line, the adult "walks" two fingers up the child's arm, ending with a playful tickle under the arm or on the stomach on the word "there."

This interaction is highly valued in early childhood education. The combination of touch, repetition, and anticipation helps infants develop spatial awareness, language recognition, and fine motor tracking. Regional variations exist, including an Irish version that references a "racecourse" and a "little hare" and a South African version that refers to a "mulberry bush."

How is the Round and Round the Garden game played?

Caregivers trace circles on a child's palm while singing the first two lines. On "One step, two step," they walk their fingers up the child's arm, ending with a gentle tickle under the arm or on the stomach.

What is the origin of Round and Round the Garden?

The modern version of the rhyme was first recorded in Britain in the late 1940s. It likely evolved from older English playground games that featured a hare instead of a teddy bear.