The diaper change has turned into a wrestling match. Your toddler needs shoes, and you have already asked three times. Or it is the end of a long day, and you’re holding a baby who needs comfort while you could use some yourself.
Try a small experiment: sing the next sentence.
Make up a little tune about those wiggly feet. Sing your child’s name. Bring back the lullaby your grandmother sang to you.
You don’t need a beautiful voice. You need a moment together, and permission to sound like yourself.
Short on time? Check out Our Family’s Song worksheet
Here’s why singing to your baby matters more than you think.
The music is already in your voice
Think about how you greet a baby. Your voice may rise and fall. You stretch a word, smile, and wait for a response.
On our podcast, The Critical Window, music educator and researcher Dr. Anita Collins explained why these ordinary moments matter. When we talk and sing, babies take in our voices, our faces, and our movements all at once. She puts it simply:
“Just using our voice as an instrument to parent.” — Dr. Anita Collins
It works a lot like parentese, the warm, sing-song way many of us naturally talk to babies. Say or sing something, leave a little space, and notice what your baby does next. Maybe they look at you, wiggle, smile, or coo. Answer that. The exchange can be very small, and it still counts.
What the research says about singing to babies
New studies are helping us understand how babies respond to our voices:
Singing can lift a baby’s mood. In a 2025 study of 110 families, parents who were encouraged to sing more often reported that their babies were in better moods.
Newborn brains tune in to both talking and singing. A 2026 study of 40 newborns found their brains responded just as strongly to songs as to speech, and more strongly than to humming.
Rhythm and language are connected. In babies 6 to 9 months old, picking up on a musical beat was linked to picking up on patterns in speech.
These are early findings. They don’t show that singing makes babies smarter or helps them talk sooner. They do give us good reasons to make singing part of everyday time together.
Why clapping is more work than it looks
One of my favorite moments in the podcast is Dr. Collins’s explanation of clapping. A toddler has to bring two hands together, listen to the timing, and repeat the movement. Add singing, and there is even more to coordinate.
She calls this mix of hearing, seeing, and moving the “sensory triangle.” It’s a helpful way to picture how much is happening inside an activity that looks simple to us.
Try sitting across from your child and clapping slowly while you sing. Let them watch, tap their knees, move one hand, or just listen. There’s no need to test whether they can keep a beat. Clapping games are a way to play together, not a check on reading or development.
A song for every age
In last week’s post, Little Brains, Big Halloween, we talked about following your child’s cues and leaning on familiar routines when the day gets overwhelming. A song can become one small part of that familiar rhythm. You don’t need a special program. Just tuck a song into the day you already have.
Every age joins in a little differently. A newborn might just watch your face during a lullaby. A one-year-old might wave along to “Pat-a-Cake.” A two-year-old might pick the next animal in “Old MacDonald” or help you make up a cleanup song.
The pattern is the same at every stage: sing, pause, notice, respond.
Download our follow-along PDF. It has one simple idea for each age from birth to three, plus space to pick your routine, your song, and who’s singing, and a week to check off the days you shared a song. You can print it or type right into it.
Follow your child’s cues, and take care of you
Some kids love loud action songs. Others want a quiet voice and short turns. If your child turns away, covers their ears, or gets upset, soften, simplify, or stop. Listening counts too.
And singing doesn’t have to fill every silence. If you’re running on empty, let another trusted adult take a turn. A song is one small tool, not one more thing on your to-do list.
A few gentle reminders:
At bedtime, a lullaby can be part of the routine, and your baby still needs their own safe sleep space.
If you have concerns about your child’s hearing, communication, or skills they seem to have lost, talk with their healthcare provider. Our post Toddler Not Talking? explains why it’s worth checking. Keep enjoying songs together in the meantime.
– Stephanie Montgomery, E.D.
Want more ideas?
Watch the episode. The Critical Window with Dr. Anita Collins: Why Music Matters for Every Child. Jump to 13:10 for the clapping conversation, or 22:24 for songs during daily routines.
Try a class. Kindermusik offers in-person and virtual music classes for babies and young children. Ask about age fit, cost, and accessibility. Our earlier post, Music Classes: A Workout for Your Baby’s Brain, has more on what classes offer.
Read more. Dr. Collins’s books: The Lullaby Effect for parents and grandparents, and The Music Advantage for anyone curious about music learning across childhood.
Ask Buddy. Visit BabyBrain.ai and try: “Help me choose three simple singing games for my 18-month-old, with gestures and pauses for their response.” Buddy offers educational support; bring health and developmental questions to your child’s provider.
Share a song with us! Join The Build a Brain Project and tell us: what did someone sing to you? What does your little one ask to hear again and again?
Sources
1. Build a Brain. The Critical Window with Dr. Anita Collins: Why Music Matters for Every Child. Watch episode.
2. Cho, E., Yurdum, L., et al. (2025). Ecological momentary assessment reveals causal effects of music enrichment on infant mood. Child Development, 96(4), 1555–1567. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14246. Exploratory randomized trial of 110 families; infant mood based on caregiver reports.
3. Marino, C., Gemignani, J., Varnet, L., Zanetto, L., Baraldi, E., & Gervain, J. (2026). Singing to the newborn brain uncovers early traces of specialized neural networks. Communications Psychology, 4, Article 97. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-026-00451-6. Brain imaging study of 40 newborns.
4. van der Wulp, I., Struiksma, M., & Wijnen, F. (2026). Words and meters: Neural evidence for a connection between individual differences in statistical learning and rhythmic ability in infancy. Developmental Science, 29(2), e70116. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70116. Study of infants 6–9 months; does not show rhythm training causes language gains.
5. Collins, A. The Lullaby Effect and The Music Advantage.
6. Kindermusik. Find a class and Why Singing to Your Child Every Day Is Vital.