To be devastated that DS6 has declared himself too grown up...

[Welshmaenad]

...for the head louse combing song?

And WIBU to share it and ask you to sing it with your DC so the legend lives on?

DS has long hair, always has, and Friday night is always the night we wash/condition and comb his hair (any more often with the washing and his hair gets brittle).

Since time immemorial we have sung The Head Louse Combing Song, partly to soothe him, partly to drown his bloodcurdling screams so the neighbours don't call social services. Tonight he turned to me in the shower and said "Mum. I'm a big boy now. You don't need to sing anymore".

I am crushed. So here in all its glory is the Head Louse Combing Song, copyright free, for your family use and enjoyment. It is set to the tune of Camptown Races, as all good songs should be.

Comb those head lice out* your hair
Doo-dah! Doo-dah!
'Cause we do not want them there!
Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-day.

Rinse them down the draaaaaaiiiin!
Before we go insaaaaaaaaane!!
Comb those head lice out your hair
Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-day!!!

In moments of extreme crisis you may break form and trill:

This is what I have to do
If you don't want licey-poos!

and then return to the song.

• I know 'out of' would be grammatically preferable but it doesn't scan, and sacrifices had to be made for art.

Enjoy. I'm sobbing into my gin over the death of a childhood.

Also "I like to wash you,wash you!" To the tune of Move it, move it...the actions are to wield a soapy flannel at any bit you can make contact with of the squiggly giggly child in the bath

Your DC will remember these when they're older - this is one from my DDad. To the tune of "It's A Small World After All" (verse not chorus), optimal for two or three children and sung in tones becoming steadily more exasperated.

Children's names (in correct rhythm)
It is time to go to-oo slee-ee-eep
So-oh put yo-ore heads
Uh-upon yo-ore beds
It is time to go to slee-ee-ee-ee-eep.

Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Now we are upstairs
Left, up, right, down
In your underwear(s)

(To row, row, row the boat, of course)

We do
Rub-a-dub-dub,
child name in the tub,
Splish splash splosh,
child name having a wash

Which having seen written down now, I think only works with a Welsh accent.

elfy perhaps just MOST good songs should be set to the tune of Camptown Races.

I'm of the opinion that Rihanna's Work, for example, would be greatly improved by this adjustment.

We have to the tune of baby face :

Smelly breath, we've got to get rid of that smelly breath
Brush the smart ones at the front
Now the chewing ones at the side
But we've got to get rid of that breath!

(Bad breath lives on the back teeth!)

OP - thank you! Great song, I'll certainly be using it!!
Paradise and Firstwelltakemanhattan - oh yes, hatching towel eggs on the bath mat, happy days!🐣

Why has this made me cry? I never used to cry. I blame having the baby. I don't even have an excuse as DS isn't even seven months yet and we've still got loads of songs to sing!

Great songs all, btw.

My two yr old has started telling me not to sing. I wonder if I can sing bomb him as I'm not ready to stop yet.

We used to sing:

We're goin' to have a little splishy-splashy
We're goin' to have a little splishy-splashy yeah
We're goin' to have a little splishy-splashy

And repeat

Aw this has made me cry too.

I do

oh brushy brushy brushy (x3)
brush here, brush there, brush everywhere!

in a hokey cokey style for teeth brushing, seemed to always work on my toddlers.

DC3 is a late bloomer with teeth so the brush is still a novelty for her I'm sure I'll be back to wrestling a slippy toddler soon.

We do

Brush, brush, brush
All day long
I'm gonna brush, brush, brush while I sing this song.
Gotta brush my teeth
Gotta make them shine
Use toothpaste with fluoride
Everytime.

We also had a nappy changing song that went to the tune of Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers but there were so many references to poo in that it just sounds a bit crude.

I'm so stealing this song! Brilliant. Here's a for you OP.

My nappy-changing song went to the tune of Ken Dodd's "Happiness" and was invented to keep me sane!

Nappiness, nappiness,
The greatest gift that you possess
The smell's not great, but I confess
You have more than your share of nappiness.

We had a crossing the road song:

Hello mr green man, how do you do?
Hurry up so I can cross the road with you.
I want to get home so I can go to sleep.
So come on out and do your beep beep beep.

(Beeps continued until the green man actually appeared and we could cross)

I sometimes sing it in my head when waiting to cross the road.

When potty training we sang 'the poo and wee song' which was just

'the poo and wee song, the poo and wee song, join along if you know the poo and wee song' until they'd finished or got bored and run off

I honestly can't express how much love I have for every single one of you that has a stupid song for an unsavoury task. Frankly the more poo references, the bigger the love.

These are GRAND! The sausage to bath song is totally coming into my house to the tune of drunken sailor

With the littles ones, as we wait for the ever errant 151 bus to appear, we sing to the tune of Frere Jacques;

"Come on bus, come on bus!
Where are you, where are you?
We are sick of waiting,
we are sick of waiting,
Come on bus, come on bus!"
Then we wave our (invisible) magic wands
Shout, Abracadabra!

Then we look to see if the bus is coming and if it is we shout Hurrah and sign 1-5-1 with our fingers!
If it isn't we complain about our magic not working and start again.
I am that embarrassing person aren't I?

I love this thread.

I've posted this before, but in our house we have The Freckle Song. The first rule of The Freckle Song is that the DC don't know the words. DH and I occasionally touch someone's freckles and then whisper/sing The Freckle Song into each other's ears while the DC shout tell me tell me the words, tell me the words tell me.

We keep telling them we will tell them the words to The Freckle Song when we feel they are old enough. Embarrassingly they are teenage now, and still beg unsuccessfully to be granted the knowledge.

The funniest bit (for DH and me anyway) is that the words are as follows

Freckle
Freckle
Freckle
Freckle
Freckle
Freckle
(Repeat)

I'm not actually sure if the DC will see the funny side after all this time

To the tune of 'Love Me Do':
Squeeze out a poo
You know you want to
You'll feel better when you do
So squeeeeeeeeeze......
Out a poo
(Complete with clenched fists and poo face at the appropriate moments)
Convinced my DC to poo in the toilet/potty anyway!

Troodon - another song in stealing! Mastered doing a wee in the potty (DS, not me), can pull pants up and down etc. But refusing to do a poo. Got high hopes for this song!

We also sing rub a dub dub Xxxx in the tub and to the tune of I'm a little tea pot

I'm a little sproglet short and stout
This is my bottom this is my mouth
When you hear me crying, pick me up
Clean my bum and fill my tum!

I work in a special school... toilet training much older children.

I have a special song which combines literacy and PSHCE... to the tune of Glory Glory Hallelujah...

'Point your penis in the potty,
Point your penis in the potty,
Point your penis in the potty,
'Cos that's where the wee wee goes'
One little lad in particular , loves is..and it reminds him to poke it downwards!

No worries timeforheroes, I hope it has the desired effect 😄 I sometimes have to sing it to myself...

Not a song but something I used to say to my godson ( now 14) and now DGS (5) and DGD (3) .
When wrapped up in bath towel
" I have a little baby
And it can't talk
And it can't walk
And all it can say is ...."

"Goo goo Gaga "