My firstborn was colicky and needed to be persuaded to sleep. So I sang. I quickly realized that Rock-a-Bye Baby wasn’t going to cut it. I reached into the well of songs I knew the words to and serenaded my sweetie with Beatles tunes and ‘80s-era ballads. Because she was born in December, I also included a few Christmas carols in my repertoire, much to my husband’s chagrin. (He now associates the holiday with infant wails and off-key warbling.)
The lullabies I used with each of my children as infants have become their official theme songs. I still sing to them at bedtime, though they’d deny it to their grade-school classmates if asked! And I’ve even turned to these songs in high-stress situations such as waiting on immunization shots in doctor’s offices. Sometimes it’s that extra dose of comfort that makes a difference. Because the tune you pick during your child’s infancy may be the one you’re singing nightly nearly a decade later, do choose something you enjoy singing.
If you find yourself humming through the classics, surf around the Web; lyrics to nearly every song you could think of are a mouse click away. Or, in a pinch, do what an EduGuide colleague suggests: “One trick I used when I couldn’t remember the lyrics to any lullabies — or when I’d run out of lyrics — was to sing the presidents or the state capitals or the starting line-up of the Green Bay Packers. It didn’t matter what words I was using, it was the soothing sound that put my daughter to sleep.”
Rebecca Kavanagh is contributing editor of START, EduGuide's early childhood publication written for families with children ages 0-5.