Australian researcher warns children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar is ‘harmful’ to children

The classic children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar could be “detrimental” to children’s reading, according to a new study by a senior childhood researcher.

Dr Helen Adam of the Edith Cowan University School of Education pointed to a series of classic children’s books which she says “perpetuate outdated stereotypes” and are not diverse enough.

Some of the books Dr. Adam highlights in his research include older classics such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Harry the Dirty Dog, and Hairy Maclary.

For his research, Dr. Adam and his team looked at eight long-term childcare centers – four in Western Australia and four in the US – and found that 90% of books read to children were not inclusive.

The researchers looked at the stories and characters in the books and broke them down into stereotypical, gender-restrictive, gender-sensitive, or gender-neutral.

Many books were “older” and first published in the 1950s or 1960s, which Dr. Adam says reflects “outdated views and lifestyles” and conveys rigid gender stereotypes.

“This research shows plain and simple that there is a lack of representation of boys and girls in non-traditional gender roles in these books,” she explained.

Dr Adam said the books did not feature gender or ethnically diverse characters and were generally told from a “white, male perspective”.

“This can contribute to children from these families and backgrounds feeling excluded or marginalized,” the lead researcher said.

Dr. Adam said the books she pointed out were not the problem, rather educators and parents often relied on these books rather than new books with diverse stories and characters.

“The majority of books shared by educators in this study promoted traditional, binary, and stereotypical views of gender and gender roles,” she writes in her study.

She added that many parents will choose to read books to their children that they loved to read as children, which contributes to “outdated views on masculinity and femininity as well as gender roles”. .

Dr. Adam said she is delighted that many new books now have diverse stories and characters, which she says should be incorporated into children’s reading.

But even with the availability of inclusive content, Dr. Adam found that much still featured traditional gender roles.

“Although the books are becoming more and more diverse with an increased balance between the main female and male characters, many of the roles played by these characters still only reflect traditional gender roles and expectations,” she said. .

“This makes it difficult for adults to choose stimulating books to share with children.”

In the study, educators were recommended to use texts to help children understand stereotypes, how they are conveyed in children’s books, and to teach children that these stereotypes were not “representative of all situation”.