What songs do you sing to your children?

[ARMSDOWN]

Every night I read books to my son in bed then I sing until he falls asleep. We have a few songs which are quite special and often requested:

• You are my sunshine
• Dream a little dream by Ella Fitzgerald
• Sunrise by Norah Jones
• Fields of gold by Eva Cassidy
• God only knows by the Beach Boys

What special songs you do you sing to your kids?

I used to sing My Bonnie lies over the ocean. My DH told me how his dad and grandad would sing it to him. As they got older they liked me to insert their names instead of Bonnie or our Dcats names ☺️

DD and DS now cringe when I want to sing but they used to love “Lullaby, and goodnight” on repeat when they were younger and occasionally a garbled version of the “River Lullaby” from Prince of Egypt. And I could get DD to calm down if she was upset by hugging her and singing the “Cuppycake” song.

Used to be sing Twinkle Twinkle and all the Nursery rhymes and all the Wiggles songs! Due to my dear dad's influence he loved Johnny Cash from quite young. He's a rocker though and wore an Acdc t shirt to the school disco aged 6! He's a proper long haired rockstar now with his own band and loves Iron Maiden, Van Halen etc like his dad.

DS1 our songs are "your song" - Elton John and "from here on out" from the Nashville soundtrack. I have been singing to him since he was a baby and have really clear memories of just sobbing through the words, feeling totally overwhelmed

DS2 our songs are This little light of mine, jingle bell rock (with personalisation!) and Sanctuary from Nashville soundtrack.

With ds1 I used to sing him enter sandman by Metallica and down to the river to pray by Alison Krauss. Also the fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song, bit I think that was more because it was just the two if us when I was on mat leave, so I was trying to fill the silence.

Ds2 gets twinkle twinkle little star and I had a little nut tree. I am suddenly feeling that he will have a poorer music future!

Feeling all that mum guilt now because only DD1 got sung to at bedtime. DD2 got seven Spanish angels whilst in NICU and DD3 gets nothing :(

Jerusalem, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind , and the entire contents of Come And Praise 2 circa 1988. Am an atheist but most songs I know are from hymn practice....

Another Elton fan here too....

When she was a baby I used to sing Your Song and I Guess That's Why We Call It The Blues as that was the song playing when she was born.

Also Baby Mine from Dumbo and Isn't She Lovely.

She's recently gone through a phase of asking for isn't she lovely at bedtime again, she nearly 7 so I'm really treasuring this 🥰🥰

Ours are:

you are my sunshine
Daisy, daisy (give me your answer do…)
my favourite things (sound of music)
eidelweis (sound of music)
beautiful briney sea (bedknobs and broomsticks)
Sun and moon (miss Saigon)
feed the birds (Mary poppins)
never going to give you up (Rick astley 😂)
tiny dancer (Elton John)

O and a million dreams from the greatest showman!

I would sit for hours singing 'baby mine' (from Dumbo) and also hush-a-bye mountain. They all used to love all the verses of twinkle twinkle.
My kids are older now but the youngest still likes me to sing disney songs to her sometimes.

Oh forgot Elton!
Blue Eyes
My DH used to sing it to DD when she was a toddler and she used to sing back 'boo yise, got boo yise'
So whenever we hear it we sing 'boo yise'

I used to sing lots of different lullabies to mine when they were babies, including Morningtown, Halfway up the Stairs and always finished with Twinkle twinkle. I also used to sing Goodnight my Angel by Billy Joel (though it makes me cry). DH always sang Imagine to them, and Time of your life by Green Day. We carried on singing to them at bedtime for a while, definitely during junior school (they used to ask for a song still after a story). Teens now so they just about say goodnight. I was still reading to them sometimes up until a couple of years ago tho.

Hello Sunshine - NOT You are my sunshine which is the one everyone thinks I'm talking about
You're The Best Thing - Style Council
Colours of the Wind - DC obsessed by Pocahontas

I'm lucky as grew up with my parents singing lots of soul and Motown. Think I fell asleep to Donny Hathaway or Al Green my entire childhood.

Twinkle twinkle was the first song my son joined in singing with me when he was two - one night he just started singing the last word of each line with me - showed he had been listening to me the previous 5000 times I'd sang it!

Current favourite is Heather on the Hill (Nathan Evans).

Other regulars include a lot of classic Scottish songs -
Caledonia
Skye boat song
If it wisnae for yur wellies
Ally Bally Bee
Ye Cannae Throw Yer Granny off a Bus
Jeely Piece song
Donald, where's yer trousers?

I sing random bits of songs throughout the day. A few from tv shows that were about when I was a child. Tots tv like someone else suggested! The song from big cook little cook too 😂 Every time I’m cleaning the kitchen I almost sing it in my head even if my toddler isn’t there. Rosie and Jim, the Tweenies and come outside too! I’m making him a 90s kid 🤣

The ‘to and fro’ song from baby sensory was always what I hummed to him as a baby so I still hum it if I’m cuddling him to sleep sometimes

Mine both loved what shall we do with the drunken sailor and liked to make up their own verses to the tune.

Saw a lovely post about a baby’s heart rate slowing down in response to their mum singing and how it’s the best way to calm young children down, I always think of that when I sing to my toddler now. Also saw a thing this week saying every young child’s favourite two things in the world are a cuddle from their mum and playing with their dad, neither can be beaten 🥺

We sing Three Little Birds (Bob Marley) at bedtime/naptime, but he loves Shotgun and Green Green Grass (George Ezra) to dance around to.

We also sing a lot of nursery rhymes and a lot of baby shark!

Puff the magic dragon
Any dream will do
Magic penny
Mary's child
Away in a manger
Sing me a song
One more step along the world I go

DD used to fall asleep every night to the Go To Sleep song from Tee and Mo, which Lauren Laverne sang much better than me! The words still make me well up.

My sister used to sing A You're Adorable, B you're so beautiful ...... to my nephew and niece.
My DD preferred I Am A Greedy Crocodile. Also Daisy, Daisy and My Old Man's A Dustman, and Puff the Magic Dragon.

And Oh My Darling, Clementine.

I sing at them, rather than to them lol. Anything that's on the radio or that might be stuck in my head. This week it's been classic Cream.

Whatever they ask for. Current favourites are 5 Little Speckled Frogs and Wind the Bobbin Up. Sometimes it's stuff from Frozen or Postman Pat's theme tune or Puff the Magic Dragon. Occasionally hymns too.
Then we finish with a song I made up for the oldest 3 years ago. Basically telling her we love her and how amazing she is. I do worry though that while everyone at school will know cool songs she will just have nursery rhymes in her repertoire.