Time for rhyme

Have you ever thought why rhymes are so important? From before birth, babies are comforted by the sound of their parents or carers singing rhymes.

Singing to your babies will:

• Soothe their cries
• Give opportunity for eye to eye contact
• Offer surprise, delight and pleasure on hearing your familiar voice
• Give opportunity for quality one to one time
• Give opportunity for shared experiences

As your child develops, singing to them will introduce:

• Actions to rhymes, developing coordination and balance in a fun way
• Recognition of language through repetition
• Learn to recognise silly and fun voices
• Develop memory
• Broaden vocabulary

Use silly fun voices and change your tone of voice according to the rhyme, mood of your child and the time of day.

When your child is a little older and can sing the rhymes themselves remember to take time to listen and praise them, giving opportunity for the child to choose the next rhyme.

At the preschool stage singing with them offers:

• Sharing with friends, children love to sing in groups and to recognise rhymes sung by others
• Relate to everyday activities
• Broaden vocabulary and memory further by introducing new and more complex rhymes
• Distinguish between sounds e.g. high and low notes, loud and soft sounds
• Improve fine motor skills “Incy Wincy Spider” to aid pencil and crayon control
• Developing imagination, making up rhymes or changing familiar rhymes

When your child begins school, rhymes will still be part of their life; they will still enjoy rhymes you shared at home, offering comfort and familiarity and will also enjoy new ones learnt at school.

Through rhymes at school children will learn:

• About past times (history) for example, “London’s Burning” could be used during a project about the plague in London
• About other cultures and languages e.g. “Frere Jacques”
• Improved posture and balance e.g. “Jelly on a plate” is sung in the playground to accompany a skipping game
• Making up rhymes, limericks and onto short stories further develops imagination and vocabulary.
• Children also learn to recognize similarities between words which help them learn to read.

Not everyone feels confident to sing but it may reassure you to know that babies and young children are more concerned with the close time you are spending with them than how tuneful you are.

The words to some popular rhymes