Singing to your little one is a great way to connect. Did you know? Babies refine their ability to hear specific language sounds during the first year of life by listening carefully as we speak, read, and sing to them. That’s something amazing that a baby is able to do. Singing to babies helps strengthen the bond between parents and their child. Doing so is helping their little one develop speech and communication skills. Research shows that music and language are so interconnected that an awareness of music is critical to a baby’s language development. Babies love music and, of course, they love sharing it with you, you that are paying special attention to them. They will often stop with what they are doing and pay close attention to you sing. If you sing to them directly, they will make eye contact with you and smile. Here are some simple, fun children’s songs for you to sing to your baby.
Activities 0-12 months
1. Lullabies at bedtime 0-6 months
Babies love lullabies. Lullabies help lull babies to sleep for three reasons: they help regulate the emotions of the baby or child, they work to foster a stronger bond between child and parent, and lullabies help establish a routine. Therefore, a lullaby repeated every night can be a great bed time cue.
Objective: Baby attends to, understand, and respond to communication. Baby uses adults as a resource to meet needs.
2. Sing to baby on everyday routines 3-12 months
Create and sing songs about taking a bath, changing diaper, during feedings, or any other routine. Sing About the weather or anything that’s happening during the day. Just have fun creating songs.
Objective: Baby attends to, understand, and respond to communication. Baby interacts in predictable and positive ways with familiar adults.
3. Sing about feelings 6-12 months
Listening to songs helps your baby grow their vocabulary. Singing about feelings helps babies learn the words to describe their emotions.
Objective: Baby learns from communication and language. Repeats rhymes, phrases, or refrains from stories or songs.