Dead tongue was a simple solution to an ongoing problem. There had always been some confusion during dramatic play in our family child care program over whether someone was sleeping, unconscious, sick, or dead. Whenever someone flopped down and quit moving, the other players had to suss out what was happening.

They’d try using contextual clues. If they were sleeping, there might be some snoring. Playing sick might come with moaning. Playing dead might precede an elaborate death scene.

They’d also ask questions: “Are you sick or dead?”, “Did you die yet, or are you still dying?”, “You’re sleeping, right?”

They’d make assumptions as best they could:

“Well, I guess the dinosaur attackers killed Grandma; let’s bury her by the tree.”

“No. I’m not dead yet; I’m still dying. It’s going to take a long time.”

It was all very confusing until three-year-old Annie found a solution: Dead Tongue.

“Guys, from now on, when you’re dead, stick out your tongue, so people know.”

It must have been a good idea. It was immediately adopted by all the kids in the program and became one of their ongoing play rules.

• ALIVE = Tongue In
• DEAD = Tongue Out

It was such a good idea that it was passed down to the younger kids and continued to be a “house rule” in our program long after Annie grew up and moved on.

Dead Tongue Wrap Up

For me, the invention of dead tongue ranks right up there with using fire to cook food, indoor plumbing, and bacon. Kids are amazingly adept at navigating the challenges of play and finding solutions. Play time devoted to rule-making and self-organization is where much of the learning happens. Of course, Annie was not the first child in the history of childhood to come up with this rule, but she was the first in her peer group to do so–and that meant something.

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