This article analyzes the genre structure of adult and children's folklore as two interconnected yet functionally distinct layers of folk culture. It examines the characteristics of genre classification, which reveal patterns in the development of folk art within the context of society's age-related, psychological, and cultural needs. Adult folklore is represented by labor, ritual, family-domestic, and historical genres that reflect the social experience, worldview, and value system of the people. Children's folklore, based on playful, rhythmic, and educational texts (nursery rhymes, counting-out rhymes, chants, lullabies, tall tales), serves communicative, cognitive, and educational functions, contributing to the development of children's speech, thinking, emotional sphere, and social behavior.

The work emphasizes the continuity of genre models: children's folklore inherits the artistic features of adult folklore while simultaneously adapting them according to children's age characteristics. Special attention is paid to the multifaceted functional nature of genres, as well as their role in shaping moral values, cultural identity, and creative imagination in children. Based on the works of G. S. Vinogradov, M. P. Cherednikova, and other researchers, the poetics and functions of lullabies, counting rhymes, and riddles in Russian and Uzbek traditions are analyzed. It is concluded that children's folklore represents a holistic pedagogical and artistic system that ensures the continuity of cultural memory and the transmission of values from generation to generation.continuity of cultural memory and transmission of values from generation to generation.