Why Singing Lullabies To Your Baby Is So Important
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Sleeping to the soothing voices of our parents singing lullabies to us was a bedtime ritual many of us grew up to enjoy. To this day, most of us fondly remember those moments. Unfortunately, this tradition is fast dying out among our peers.
Recently, YouGov, a market research company, polled to measure how many parents sing lullabies to their children. The result of the poll revealed that only one-third of new parents whose children are under the age of five sing lullabies at bedtime. And most of the parents that sing lullabies are 45 years or older (1). This is an unfortunate turn of event since one of the ways to enhance the parent-to-baby bond is by singing to the infant.
According to Psychology Today, babies are born with an innate ability to differentiate between different rhythmic patterns (2). A group of researchers from Hungary and the Netherlands made this discovery in 2009. Their study involved measuring the brain waves of babies as they listened to various rhythms.
In addition to this, other studies show that singing makes babies feel calm, enhances their development, and strengthens the connection between child and parent. Seeing as babies begin to process sound from when they are 25 weeks old, singing to babies from utero helps them familiarize themselves with their parents.
Why Millennial Parents Are Not Singing To Their Babies
Smartphones and other gadgets are the biggest reasons millennial parents don’t sing to their children. These devices prevent millennial parents from singing to their children because they make it easy to access pre-recorded music.
Another reason is the popularity of talent TV shows. These TV shows promote the belief that the ability to sing is only restricted to a selected few. And this has subconsciously killed the motivation in many people to sing.
However, this isn’t true. Everybody can sing. Singing is simply the natural maternal or paternal voice of all parents that soothes infants and is a means of expressing love to babies.
Should You Play Music From Your Phone Or Sing?
First, parents should never play music to their babies through headphones. The ear of a baby is extremely sensitive to sound. So, playing music through earphones can cause serious damage. If they must play music from their phones, they should keep the volume to the lowest possible sound.
That said, parents sing to their children because of the following reasons:
- Bonding
Singing to babies strengthens the bond of affection between parent and child. This is because of the uniqueness in the quality and vibration of the parent’s voice, which the baby can relate to as a pleasant sound.
- Soothing
Since the baby has been hearing the voice of the parent from the womb, they become familiar with the sound. This provides the parent with an effective tool for comforting the baby when things get rough.
- Responsiveness To Baby’s Cues
Unlike recorded music, when singing, parents can modify rhythms to account for certainly noticeable baby cues.
Is Humming As Effective As Singing?
While singing provides an avenue for parents to bond with their children, humming can also suffice to achieve this. When paired with some lyrics, humming can give babies emotional content. It also exposes them to repetitive language, thereby promoting language development.
Also, singing the same songs over and over again can elicit positive reactions from the baby.
What About Using A Noise Machine?
Parents can use noise machines to make their children feel more comfortable. But, before using noise machines, parents should follow these guidelines:
- Noise levels should be 65 decibels or less (conversation level sounds).
- Sounds should have rhythms that are predictable and without any sudden or sharp sounds.
- Recordings should produce sounds similar to what the baby hears while in the womb, such as heartbeats.
In conclusion, if you want to deepen the bond you have with your baby, never waste a second to sing to your baby constantly and, if possible, every day.
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