Singing to your kids

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Anyone else sing to their children? I've recently started doing it at bedtime a little song I made up and my son loves it, it makes him smile and calms him down.

And today at the park while pushing him on the swing I made up a song about today and what happened and what he likes to eat.
He was smiling and giggling away, and I knew he was listening and understanding the words (he's non verbal). It's like I had his attention when normally I don't, I was really pleased.

Luckily no-one was around to hear me

I used to sing nonsense songs to my daughter, and when she was colicky and crying inconsolably and the only way to get her to sleep was pacing the floor with her for hours, patting her on the back, I hummed a repetitive tune that I remembered my Dad whistling when I was a child. A few years later I found it in an instrumental on a Chieftains Cd - its called 'Lament for Limerick'. My Dad's family is Dutch, so I can't imagine where he heard it...

Oh yes, music is the best. I began singing to my 5 yr old boy when he was first born. When we first started noticing that he was having trouble following directions, we would make up little songs to help him. It was wonderful. Music has been very therapeutic for my son. We also have a CD of Celtic lullabies that was put out by Fisher Price. He listens to it every night at bedtime, and it puts him right to sleep. He is very verbal these days, and loves to run around singing at the top of his lungs! LOL!

Almost every day since the day they were born, and my kids are 18 and 14. Music and singing are a major part of our family. In fact, I would call music a "shared special interest." We still sing together in car rides. Its kind of funny now because sometimes they are like, "Daaaaad (winy voice), cut it out, I'm too old for that" which just makes me laugh. Music hath charms...

Thanks for asking, nostromo

Both my kids have their own special bedtime song. Of all the songs I used to sing to them when they were infants, the one they really responded to. That one song they each love to hear me sing, still. Anything else ... well, they've since figured out that mommy doesn't have the best voice.

I so miss doing this! We used to sing to our son all the time. Only get to do it on rare occasions now.

I used to love making up personalized songs for him. I sang "Down in the Valley" over and over with all of the names of people he knows: "Roses are red dear, violets are blue, your grandma Bubbi, knows she loves you." And "here comes my son, dodidodo..."

For a time he insisted that all his picture books be sung to him. This was hilarious.

He likes to sing with us now. We made up an awesome 3-part knock-knock-joke rap.

My son is pretty musical, so when I start singing he usually tells me to stop.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm onto something here as a means of communication with the little guy. It really gets his attention in a way spoken words don't.

I sang to him in bed this morning when he wouldn't get out - about getting out of bed and how he was a sleepyhead and how he liked his bed, but there's toast in the kitchen and thats the food he likes the most (I used some of those words!). He was grinning again, if nothign elses thats worth it

I sang to my daughter all the time too. Another thing I learnt that she really responded to was commentary talking as taught by the child psychologist. This is where you commentate on what they doing as they do it, just like a sports commentator. It sounds really strange and it feels even weirder to do it but she loved it. She opened up like a little flower. I think it's because they know that they have 100% attention.

I used to sing with my kids a lot. Do you remeber that song "Tom's Diner" by Susan Vega? I would use the same tune and narrate what I was doing. It keeps kids entertained, even more so if you are quick with rhymes.

Keep it up Nostromo, I think music is a way of connecting with our kids that is very powerful.

My parents would sing to me, my father played piano/guitar around me, and my mother played classical music when I was younger. (I have AS.) I think it plays a part in how musical I am today. If I ever have kids, I'll sing to them lol. And play music for them. I think it's really important to do so.

i have always sung to my kids and they all love music, but the most valuable singing i ever did was when my middle son was born. he was a month premature and couldnt breathe well, and the hospital staff punctured his lung when they intubated him. so he spent 21 days in the nicu, the first 12 days on a respirator and i couldnt hold him during that time. for hours every day i would sit beside the warmer he was in, holding his hand or touching him in some way, and sing to him.

simply the sound of your voice can be enough to reach them, from the very beginning. when that same child was born, he didnt open his eyes. i didnt see him until over 12 hours after he was born (emergency c-sec under general and bad reaction to meds afterwards). when they finally wheeled me to the nicu, i got as close as i could to his warmer and said "hi baby", and when he heard my voice he opened his eyes for the first time and looked right at me. even babies in the womb learn to recognize voices.

its great that you've found that way to connect with your son =) finding something like that that can turn their mood around is fabulous.

Music in general has always been a big part of my little man's life. My husband is gifted with the guitar, so he heard music daily before he was even born. When he was an infant we played a baby Mozart cd while he slept. It didn't take us long to figure out music in general had a major calming effect on him. Now at 7 he sleeps to the the guitarist Andy McGee all night. The same song on repeat over and over. When he goes into a meltdown we rock and hum his favorite songs. I will say that he doesn't enjoy any rock, rap or any of the newer more age appropriate music......