Almost every child has grown up singing and listening to nursery rhymes. No childhood is complete without it. From catchy rhythms to fun words, nursery rhymes can bring the brightest smiles and tons of giggles to a child’s face.
With the onset of digital technology nursery rhymes are no longer confined to books but are readily available on social media like YouTube. The Hey Kids channel has some of our favorites. Who can forget classics such as Rain Rain Go Away, Incy Wincy Spider (my personal favorite!), Old MacDonald Had a Farm and more?
Nursery rhymes aren’t only just for fun though. They have positive a impact on our little ones. From babies to toddlers let’s discover the benefits of nursery rhymes.
Development of language skills
As soon as babies are born they’re introduced to nursery rhymes. We usually use these rhymes to soothe and play with our kids but did you know that along the way you’re already helping your child develop his language skills? They’re introduced to new words and phrases through these rhymes. It also helps build comprehension as they try to understand the rhyme.
Repetition for memory
Rhymes usually repeat lines and the repetition in the rhymes help kids learn recall. Repeating the lines can help children master their own techniques to memorization as they form the rhymes in their head and sing them. A perfect example is Old MacDonald Had a Farm. With this rhyme children have to remember the sequence that they’ve sung the song.
Produces a love for reading
Some nursery rhymes are handed down through generations and some we get from children’s books. I had a few nursery rhyme books for the kids and we would sing and read to it. They learned to like books because they were fun. They engaged themselves in the stories wanting to learn what would happen.
From this children can have a love for reading which hopefully progresses to a lifelong love for it.
Comfort and soothe
I sang nursery rhymes to my kids in lulling tones and funny voices. Either way they were meant to comfort and soothe them. To assure them through my voice that I was there for them and that they were safe. I often a night sang these rhymes to put them to sleep. This is why when we hear these rhymes we can get nostalgic and warm.
The Incy Wincy Spider can be a lullaby as proven with my three kids. They would get excited upon hearing it and as I sang the song sometimes up to 10 times in a row they would be lulled and comforted.
What are some of the nursery rhymes you enjoyed as a child?
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I agree with you. Those benefits are evident in my boys as I love to sing and read nursery rhymes to them. They all now love to read and develop within themselves the love for books. I find it amusing as well that they can easily memorize lines and songs. Now, they can apply this in their studies.
our children learn to read as soon as they can recognize symbols, such as the McDonalds sign they know that is where they can get french fries. Reading to our children and them seeing us read some more great ideas. Thanks for sharing this it is awesome
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Well I’ve tried the other way of making my kid study. It just doesn’t work. You’ve absolutely nailed the topic here. I’ve noticed my kid remembering and noticed that my kid tends to remember more things and understand easily when the method of learning follows a FUN and gamely way…
We love singing in our house! My one year old has just figured out the actions to ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ it’s so beautiful to watch. I’ll definitely be checking out the Hey Kids channel, I think he’d love it.
When i was younger, i would always remember hearing my favorite nursery rhymed and that would always calm me down. My mother bought this dvd that played on loop songs like old mcdonald and humpty dumpty. I would never forget all of them. I really agree with how important these are for infants and growing children. It doesn’t define the person but it can define what we listen to and for why.