One of the cutest things I remember about my daughter as a toddler is how she would fill in the blanks of nursery rhymes. “Mary had a little…” I’d say, then she’d jump in with a joyful and excited “Lamb!” She couldn’t quite hit the L sound, so it came out as Mary had a little “Wham.” There’s a reason nursery rhymes are still making the rounds in the lives of little kids—babies and young children love the silliness, repetition, and familiarity.
And that’s a good thing because there are actually some pretty big benefits of sharing nursery rhymes with your baby—everything from strengthening the mother-child bond to laying the foundation for language, reading, and math. So if you’re tempted to write off Mother Goose and her crew as mindless entertainment, here are 5 reasons nursery rhymes should still be your friend.
1. They’re easy to fit into a toddler’s day.
“Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O” takes zero supplies, zero planning, and zero cleanup. You and your toddler can sing it from the car as you drive by birds, cows, or dogs. Or while you’re cutting up grapes for lunch. Every grape is an O!
One of the most valuable benefits of nursery rhymes is that they give opportunities for instant connection, silliness, and lots of smiles between you and your child. And when mothers and babies share smiles, it strengthens their bond.
2. They are a springboard to all things language.
Babies can’t make out phonetic sounds until they’re about seven months old, but they can start learning about language from rhythmic speech even as newborns and infants. That’s why nursery rhymes are so beneficial to babies. When kids get a little older, they start picking up on the rhyming patterns in nursery rhymes. “Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock.” You could probably recite that in your sleep, but those simple rhymes catapult your toddler’s awareness of sound patterns.
She’ll hear the “ock” sound and recognize that dock rhymes with clock. Then she’ll connect the dots and realize there are words that don’t rhyme. Experimenting with and recognizing sounds leads to stronger reading, writing, and spelling foundations. It’s one of the benefits of nursery rhymes that can’t be overstated. Nursery rhymes also lead to growth in enunciation, pronunciation, articulation, intonation, and modulation.
3. They are a tool to teach empathy and other social concepts.
“Jack and Jill went up the hill…” and everything went downhill from there. Literally. When you and your toddler recite this nursery rhyme, make a cringe “owie” face when Jack falls, or Jill tumbles, to teach your child to consider what another person is feeling. Social-emotional skills take a long time to fully mature, but talking about what a character experiences is a good first step in teaching empathy.
Try “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” for teaching sharing. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” illustrates kindness and the joy of having a pet. And “Hey, Diddle, Diddle” shows the fun and joy of friendships. There are some nursery rhymes that might be too sad for a sensitive child because they don’t end on a happy note. “Humpty Dumpty” or “There Was an Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe” might upset a child who grasps their meaning. Or, your child may think they’re funny. You’ll know by your child’s reaction.
4. They lay a foundation for math intelligence.
“Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head!” Your kiddo might appear to have mastered subtraction as the monkeys fall one at a time, but the real math benefits of nursery rhymes come from patterns and repetition. It’s the same reason learning an instrument can help with math—mathematical reasoning is based on searching for and analyzing patterns.
And, new research shows that nursery rhymes help develop skills needed in STEM areas: “sequencing, directionality, and problem solving.” These benefits can be seen in children as young as preschool age.
5. They teach story sequences.
“Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet…” As your little one recites this nursery rhyme, she’ll remember Miss Muffet was ready to indulge in delicious curds and whey when a spider came along, sat down, and frightened her away (What’s with nursery rhymes and spiders?). To you, it’s a routine order of events, but to your toddler, it teaches the concept that a story has a beginning, middle, and end.
And if you want your child to benefit even more from nursery rhymes, sing them to him. Yale researchers found that when parents sang to their babies, the babies were calmer and had happier moods. Singing or speaking nursery rhymes is an easy and beneficial way to engage with your baby. You’ll learn more about her as she reveals her favorites, and you’ll create sweet memories that will make you smile long after she’s moved on from Mother Goose.
What’s your favorite nursery rhyme? Have you taught it to your child yet?
