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Sing With Your Baby

Singing with your child is one of the most important things you can do for their language and literacy skills, and it’s never too early to start! In fact, many research studies show that singing with your baby will boost both their cognitive skills and development, and increase their bond and feeling of emotional security with you, their caregiver.

Here are some tips to make the most out of your musical time together:

  • Have special songs for certain times of day: Good morning songs, clean-up songs, and bedtime lullabies can help your child transition between activities and provide a strong association with their routine.
  • Find songs you both enjoy: There is no need to only listen to ‘kid’ music, if you or your child would rather sing songs from Bruno Mars or Bob Marley.
  • If you speak multiple languages at home, sing songs in both languages.
  • Sing songs with actions as part of play time, and help your baby follow along as they grow. Songs like The Wheels on the Bus and The Itsy Bitsy Spider help your child associate the vocabulary with the movements.

If you are in the market for some new tunes or need to brush up on the classics, Spokane Public Library has you covered. We have children’s music CDs, book collections of children’s song lyrics, as well as free streaming music for people of all ages through hoopla.  We sing each week at our storytime programs, including Baby Storytime!

You will never have a less judgmental audience for your singing than your baby, so don’t be shy – your baby will benefit from the language and literacy skills you are imparting, as well as the time and love you are giving them.

Staff book recommendations:

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