To sing to DS, often

[SnakeTonic]

I'm not a brilliant singer by any means, but I love singing to my DS, who is 5 months. I think maybe as I'm a bit nervy and it calms both of us down. Anyway DP says he thinks it's sweet but MIL keeps saying things like "Christ Snake, another song, where the hell did you learn that one?" Or "don't you ever get tired of singing?" and today, when she popped round for dinner, heard me singing DS to sleep on monitor (umm, slow slow operatic versions of several nursery rhymes said "poor boy he must be sick of your voice by now, do you ever stop for breath?"

Thought that was a bit cruel TBH and felt quite upset. It's a nice bonding thing for us and not sure why she always pisses on my parade. Possibly my singing makes her self conscious? Or jealous of my ahem dulcet tones? Or inadequate that she didn't sing to DP as a child? Or, you know, I'm just really fucking annoying!

Does anyone else sing a lot to the DCs?

Oh god am I like the opera lady from OBEM???

[aldiwhore]

IGNORE.

I still sing to my boys and I'm shit but I can get comfy and they don't seem to mind.

(and it's all modern covers and mashed up country ballard versions of nursery rhymes, a bit of blues, bluegrass etc).


I used to think I wasn't making them happy thanks to stupid comments by people who weren't my intended audience, so ignore and sing until your children ask you to stop... and then sing to yourself.

[JazzDalek]

YANBU

Singing to your children is completely lovely. I used to sing to DD when she was a baby because I didn't know what to say to her

They don't let me warble sing any more, tbf I am a terrible singer

I still remember all the words to the songs my mum used to sing when I was little - mostly Puff the Magic Dragon and the complete soundtrack to The Sound of Music

[FrameyMcFrame]

She's jealous.

Ignore and keep on singing... LOUDER.

(by the way, singing and nursery rhymes are very beneficial to your DC's language development and emotional development)

[JollyPurpleGiant]

Lidl are selling a CD with 125 children's songs on it. Bought one today. So excited about sharing it with DS.

I sing to DS all the time. I have an absolutely terrible singing voice. I'm very tone deaf. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that.

DS loves it though and at 23mo knows loads of words to songs and rhymes. He will often finish my line if I get distracted and stop singing.

[Pandemoniaa]

3 action songs in a half hour walk, for a 5 month old baby, is overkill if you're in the company of anyone other than your dh. I want to be all cosy and cute and say how nice it is, but the fact is...I would be chewing my knuckles.

I agree. I think singing is brilliant - we all sang lots when my dcs were younger - but I don't think I'd inflict this amount of singing to a wider audience. Especially at a pub lunch and especially with a baby that can't actually join in either. It comes across as very much of a performance, I'm afraid, even if this isn't your intention.

[GeoffVader]

Try my DP, when DD was just learning to giggle, he used to sing 'Daddy Cool'

Not the whole song, just Daddy Cool, so it was a constant..Daddy, daddy coooool, daddy, daddy coooooool.

I let it slide as DD used to giggle like crazy at him. :o

[KindleMum]

Oh, but your MIL is being extremely rude and ill-mannered.

[KindleMum]

We both sang to ours a lot, and made up our own lyrics and still do - DS now makes up his own lyrics to songs which is quite sweet. But I wouldn't sing while out to lunch or generally with company. Apart from anything else, I'd feel it was being a bit "ignoring" of the visitors.

So YANBU to sing lots, but maybesing more when it's you, DCs and DH and less when you've company?

[ReallyTired]

Not read the whole thread, but is your MIL always that unpleasent?

Babies love being sung to. It helps their speech and makes them more intelligent.

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

I used to sing to DC all the time as babies, all the nursery songs, songs from radio, and whatever popped into my head. Sometimes it was just " shut up and go to sleep little baby" to the tune of a nursery rhyme. In those sleep deprived months, not all the time.

[melika]

YANBU, tell her to feck off! It's your baby, your home, your life.

Most happy memories come to me when I remember the songs I used to make up for my DC. They even remember them. They are happy kids who now sing themselves (around the house).

Forget the bitch!

[meddie]

haha Elqiunto.. Our mcdonalds farm had giraffes,lizards and pandas. I used to invent sounds for animals, the silllier the better my kids loved it.

[nokidshere]

Sing away and don't worry about her - just smile indulgently whilst making a ditty up in your head about her

I have always sung - to my own children, to my minded children, to my friends children lol... I have a rubbish voice but know lots of songs and can make one up at the drop of a hat for everything we do haha

The teenagers I drive to school (mine and friends) have even sung songs that I have made up to the little ones in the car! They veer between mortifyingly embarrassed to laughing hilariously.

[elQuintoConyo]

Horrible undiplomatic comments she made. If anyone was that blunt I would cheerfully tell them to bog off.

DS has had songs about all sorts of shit: in his world, Old MacDonald has a jar, a pillar, some marbles, a waffley Mummy, a snake, some poo and Pocoyo on his farm, to name a few off the top of my head.

I also invented 15 verses to Hush Little Baby (cos the real ones are boring), which I hear is quite a popluar thing to do, although I had no idea.

One of DH's favourite memories is me singing Pulp's Live Bed Show to DS when he had colic!

• I can't sing for toffee/my life/shit

[wreckedone]

I've sung to my lad since he was tiny. He loves it as part of his bedtime routine and often asks for songs during the day too-children love their mother's voice, no matter how bad everyone else says it is!!

[Eliza22]

How rude is she? Tell her, politely, to go fuck herself.

When my son was little, he hated all singing/rhymes/clap hands/peekaboo etc. When he could speak and I sang, he'd cry "no mummy! No!!" Years later, he was diagnosed with ASD.

Now, he's 12 and I'm allowed to sing again! He says "mum, you've such a good voice" and he won't sing with me, but loves all the silly songs I sing, especially when I make up the words cause I don't know the real ones. Babies usually LOVE singing.

Tell her to mind her own business. Makes me wonder what she was lie with her own kids..... Sounds like a bucket of cold water was poured on their childhood!

[propertyNIGHTmareBEFOREXMAS]

Oh your MIL sounds like an utter dick. Just tell her to shut up and that you have no respect for re opinions given that she is a twat.

[tak1ngchances]

Kids LOVE singing. I am so glad you sing to your baby. I still remember all the songs Mum used to sing to help me sleep when I was little and covered in eczema from head to foot. It was the only thing that could calm me down and stop me itching.

Hilarious story though - Celine Dion once said in an interview that every time she sang to her baby, he cried!

[Hissy]

My hulking great 7 year old gets sung to all the time. I make up silly songs all the time. He loves it. "But, please Mummy, not in front of the people!"

[munchkinmaster]

Oh and singing totally calms my baby down. I'd love to get through a walk with only 3 songs. When baby was smaller I'd always be walking along singing to her like a loon to stop tears. I remember being in the changing cubicle at the swimming and baby went off on one and DH and I started belting out one man went to mow a meadow.

[munchkinmaster]

DH is a famously bad singer. Tunes are totally unrecognisable when mangled by him. He sings all these terrible old folksongs to baby (which are all about death etc). She loves them. The other day I went out when DH was having a shower with baby in her little chair bring sung to (happens every day). We have no fan in the bathroom so you have to open the window a bit and I realised you could hear DH belting it out at the other end of our street!

(I do sometimes tell him the geneva convention has been on the phone due to his continued torture of an infant).

[LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood]

YANBU. You are doing something lovely.

I sang my DD1 to sleep until she was about 4. It was a the same 10 lullabies each night. Traditional, ie 'You are my sunshine'. By the time I got to the last which was 'I see the moon' she was asleep.

I don't have an amazing voice, though I can hold a tune.

I tried it with DD2 but it didn't work with her. In fact she was an early talker and around 18 months told me to 'stop noise!'

By the time DS came along I was a bit sung out. But he is 21 months and is breastfed to sleep instead. Those nighttime moments are precious to both mother and baby/child. What you are doing is lovely.

[pictish]

3 action songs in a half hour walk, for a 5 month old baby, is overkill if you're in the company of anyone other than your dh. I want to be all cosy and cute and say how nice it is, but the fact is...I would be chewing my knuckles.

[HappySeven]

Phew, Pictish!

[CSIJanner]

AFWIW - I sing to mine all the time. Horses for courses. Some people hate it but my DC love it