Singing To Baby: Is It Really Necessary?

Singing to your baby...

To some, it comes naturally, to others it might not. At the end of the day, your baby doesn't care if you're tone-deaf or an opera singer! Read on to find out why singing to your baby is so valuable for their development and attachment to you.

Did you know that hearing is the only sense fully formed in a newborn baby?

AND that babies will hear their mother's voices as if it is music when they first hear it, even a couple of hours after birth?! 🤯 SO music is there from the very beginning!

Your baby experiences every sound they hear as if it is music. 

Babies use their music processing networks (which are present at birth) to start separating out speech sounds from all the other sounds around them (which leads onto talking!). 

We heard these amazing facts on a podcast we listened to lately on Babytalk called 'The Music Advantage' - it is such an interesting episode to listen to!

Dr Anita Collins (who was interviewed in the episode) talked all about the benefits of singing to your baby, and how it is so easy for a baby to connect with their parents when they are being sung to, as it is using their most developed sense. As your baby grows, you will find they love to sing all the time because they are so connected to music from birth. 

And it continues to have benefits as your baby grows! Something as simple as trying to tap a beat along to a song is so important for children's development. Whilst trying to clap/tap along to a beat, their eyes, ear and their body are working really hard to do this activity. Once these things fall into place it's connectivity in the brain that leads to the next big steps of learning like social interaction and even reading later on. 

There are so many benefits of singing to your baby:

• Singing strengthens the bond between you and your child
• It's calming and soothing for both you and your baby!
• It's a wonderful way for you to show LOVE to your baby
• It can be used in routines (e.g. a song when waking up or a song for bedtime). Babies love routine and this helps them prepare for what is coming next
• A fun way to play and interact with your baby and allow for face to face time
• A great way to involve other people in the family (e.g. getting older siblings to sing to the baby)
• Music can support motor skills development, for example songs about body parts can help your baby learn about their body and action songs can help your baby understand how you want them to move. 
• Music and singing can engage, support and entertain your baby particularly when they're in positions like tummy time that require a bit more effort. 

And then, of course, there are the language benefits!

• As we spoke about above, language in itself is musical and when you sing, just as when you speak, your baby learns about words, language and communication
• You introduce new words when you sing to your baby. Lots of nursery rhymes are very repetitive and have actions that go along with them that help your baby learn the meaning of those words
• Singing supports listening skills, which provides another opportunity for your baby to listen to language and begin to understand it
• Singing invites people to join in and take part in the communication. Your baby will start by joining in with gorgeous sounds, and when older they’ll join in with words too!

How to sing to your baby:

• Keep it simple — you don’t have to have a musical instrument. Your face and your voice is enough stimulation for a young baby.
• Use lots of facial expressions to add meaning to the words in the songs and to captivate your child’s attention
• Use songs with lots of action words to add extra meaning to the words you’re singing. Even if you don’t know the actions, make them up!
• It doesn’t matter what you sing, or how good your singing voice is, it’s the way you sing it
• Sing everywhere! At home when in your arms, during floor play, during bath time and when cuddling them before sleep. Or sing when you’re out and about — in the pram, at the park or at your local library rhyme time (this is a great place to learn new nursery rhymes if your repertoire is a bit rusty!)

Want to know more about singing to your baby? Our Walky Talky Baby members receive fortnightly emails which have specific tips for 'Music time' with your baby. Including song suggestions and how you can support your baby's Walky and Talky skills when singing it. Join now to get the tips!

 Now we would love to hear from you! Does your baby love singing? Or do you feel it doesn't come naturally to you? Let us know!

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