Putting babies to sleep is no easy feat, and that pretty much comes with the territory with parenthood. This is especially at the forefront when your little one is cranky or just a crier. How often do you find yourself ready to turn in for the night when, like clockwork, the baby needs you? It can lead to some pretty tiring moments as a parent, but there has been a tried and true technique that has done wonders for centuries. 

Lullabies have been proven to work for centuries as it usually stops them from crying and leaves them happier than when you found them. It is not like there is some saying where lullabies just work for babies neither, it has been scientifically proven that lullabies actually work well with young children. Here, we explore exactly why they work for children and how they are able to soothe babies in times of stress and need.

Reasons Why Lullabies Work

1. They help regulate emotions

When a baby is experiencing stress or negative emotions, they would express their needs by calling out for you in the form of a cry. When you go to comfort them and sing them a lullaby, it stimulates certain emotions in specific neural connections that attribute lullabies to positive emotions. Lullabies create an excellent atmosphere for a peaceful environment which calms them down and for a lot of the time, helps them get to sleep.

2. Lullabies engage the babies with music

Lullabies keep the babies attention on the song itself, distracting them from the thing that was giving them grief at the time. This also has the long term effect of helping your children learn language faster. This works by stimulating a baby’s auditory cortex that helps them pay attention to the words from the parents as they sing, which can also help them pick up more words more efficiently. 

3. Higher pitch songs sooth babies

Babies are soothed by any lullaby from any language, even if they do not necessarily understand the song, but they respond better when the parents are aware of their pitch and tone when they sing. Babies are especially attracted to higher pitch songs, which is why when mothers sing, they will calm down a lot. 

4. The closeness of the parent while they sing

When parents sing lullabies for their babies, this is quality bonding time for the family where the children can calm down as they are cared for by their parents. This also creates a stronger connection between the baby and the parents as they would relate the experience to happy emotions. They are also more likely to respond better to lullabies if parents give their all when they sing, making it easier for them to be lulled to sleep in the company of someone they love and are bonded to.

5. They associate music with positive emotions

Despite their young age, babies can still detect tempo and rhythms which helps them process the songs a little better. This means that babies process the music to the point where they will form an emotional connection with certain songs. This would also lead to developing a child’s taste as they start to have more of a favorite song that they love listening to. Knowing this, parents can create a routine where they will be able to play their favorite song which can bring out positive emotions for the baby.

Lullabies have always been great for babies, but it gets deeper than that, this form of bonding extends to the parents as well. Babies will be more happy and closer to their parents as they will be able to associate their happiness and calmness to their parents who love them. The combination of lullabies and the presence of their parents are the secret to lullabies, it soothes them from negative emotions and connects them to the people that sing to them, and that is why lullabies just work.

References

Gvalani, A. (2022, January 17). Why Do We Sing Lullabies To Put Babies To Sleep? Science ABC. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/why-do-we-sing-lullabies-to-put-babies-to-sleep.html

Why Do Lullabies Work? (2015, February 9). Riley Children's Health. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://www.rileychildrens.org/connections/why-do-lullabies-work

Why Lullabies Work, According to the Experts. (2017, November 27). Parent.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://www.parent.com/blogs/conversations/lullabies-work-according-experts