You might find yourself humming to the same lullaby your parents sang to you. Lullabies are our cultural inheritance, passed down gently from the moment you arrive into the world or perhaps before you were born. They are soothing and hold many benefits for your baby.
Here are three of the main benefits:
1. Lullabies calm babies and lull them to sleep. Lullabies are scientifically proven to be the best way to help calm a crying baby and lull them to sleep. They are designed to soothe babies. Researchers have found that babies react better with lullabies than everyday music we listen to.They help to calm and relax babies with a soothing song with the perfect balance of rocking music. It can also help them express their emotions in better ways as they develop. Babies with improved sleep stay happy, active and engage more in activities.
2. Stimulate babies’ language development. Lullabies can stimulate a baby’s language development and help them pick up language faster. A baby may also start speaking early too as exposure to music can speed up the process of learning to speak.
3. Strengthens the bond between parent and baby. Singing lullabies is a chance for parents to bond with their baby. When you sing a lullaby you are conveying love, language, emotion and dreams to your baby. It is a one-on-one communication to express emotions and build closeness with your baby by strengthening the bond. A regular lullaby can help your baby be closer to you. Singing lullabies to your baby before birth can help them get familiarised with the lullaby for when they come into the world, help in brain development and create a positive influence on the baby.
3 helpful tips to sing lullabies to your baby:
- Repetitive words. Lullabies with repetitive words work more effectively. Just the simple words, ‘Nini Baby’ singing repeatedly may surprisingly lull your baby to sleep. Nini Baby also works well with gentle rocking movements.
- Be soft and gentle. When singing lullabies to your baby, be soft and gentle by lowering your voice but don’t spoil the fun. Balance between excitement and relaxation in your voice.
- Engage your baby with toys and motions. Your child may be in the mood for fun and find just singing to be boring. Be playful and use your baby’s favourite stuffed toy while acting out sleeping and yawning motions as you sing to lull them to sleep.
If you haven’t tried singing a lullaby to your baby then try singing one tonight to help soothe your baby. Singing lullabies to your baby is a part of your parenting journey that should be embraced. And babies don’t know if you sing out of tune and it won’t impact them if you do, so sing your heart out and enjoy being your babies’ number one star.
