Yahoo Lifestyle The end of the lullaby. Parents say they prefer to sing pop songs to their babies
Photo: Getty Images
Traditional lullabies are losing out to modern pop when it comes to the songs parents choose to sing to their babies.
It seems the likes of Rock-a-bye-baby and Twinkle Twinkle are losing out to chartbusters such as Rihanna and Adele, with more parents turning to songs they like now, rather than those that were sung to them as babies.
Half of the 2,000 parents polled by the manufacturers of musical toy Symphony in B said they sang pop songs, while only 15 per cent's first choice was traditional lullabies.
The survey found that Bruno Mars' Just the Way You Are and Adele's Someone Like You are the most popular songs parents choose to sing. These were followed by Robbie Williams' Angels and Diamonds and Umbrella, by Rihanna, which completed the top five.
Parents are choosing to sing the latest pop songs over traditional lullabies. Pictured: Adele, Bruno Mars and Rihanna. Photo: Getty Images
Other songs parents mentioned included: Sweet Child of Mine by the Guns 'N' Roses, Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble and Emeli Sande's Next to Me.
But are these songs as good for our babies as age-old lullabies? Or is there a reason generations of parents have sung the originals?
Well, singing of any kind is an ideal way to bond with your baby and you can start before he or she is even born. The sound of your voice is soothing and babies love songs because the sound mimics the sound of their own babbling - so it really doesn't matter how tone deaf you are, your tot won't care a bit.
“Children’s response to live music is different from recorded music,” adds Sally Goddard Blythe, a consultant in neuro-developmental education, whose book The Genius of Natural Childhood encourages parents to sing to their children from day one. “Babies are particularly responsive when the music comes directly from the parent,” she explains.
On the other hand, some experts think that the simplicity of the words and rhythms in traditional lullabies and nursery rhymes are perfectly designed to prepare your baby’s brain for language and communicating.
So a good idea might be to mix and match what you sing - which will keep things a little more interesting for you as well.
Tell us your baby's favourite song.
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Kim Hookem-Smith is a staff writer for Yahoo! UK & Ireland Lifestyle.
