"Kiedy dzieci są niegrzeczne, nie wiem, co się zdarzyć może!" Obraz dzieci grzecznych i niegrzecznych w polskich piosenkach dziecięcych

The author of the article attempts to reconstruct the image of children’s attitudes and behaviours considered by adults to be desirable and undesirable in Polish children’s songs. The described results represent a part of a wider research project aimed at recognizing the image of the social world contained in songs for children. The qualitative analysis of the linguistic layer of these lyrics, carried out using the discourse analysis method, enabled the author to reach the vision of the social world propagated by them. One of its key elements turned out to be the image of children’s attitudes and behaviours, which are considered appropriate (polite) and inappropriate (rude, naughty) by the songwriters. As the analyses show, apart from a few exceptions, the studied children’s songs clearly fit into the functional and behavioural pedagogical discourse, as they emphasize the need to submit the child to the rules imposed from above. The upbringing process is often presented in the songs as reduced only to the application of punishments and – less frequently – rewards.