Lullabies are soothing songs or chants mainly sang to make infants sleep. Each community has lullabies composed in their own language which serve different purposes.
There are communities that sing lullabies to their young ones so as to pass down tradition. Others do it as a way of teaching their children how to speak and listen. Lullabies mostly have simple lyrics which carry a very emotional and deep meaning. Most of them speak of love, either mother to child or sibling love. Most of these melodies are equipped with consonant intervals so that the song happens to be sweet, pleasant and acceptable to the children keeping them interested.
Lullabies maybe believed to be just songs but they serve a very great purpose. Many people ask why lullabies are slow and some refer to them as boring. Well, these songs have slow tempos and are usually repetitive so as to acquire a rocking motion. This feeling is similar to what the baby felt as they were in their mother’s womb or when they are being rocked in a cradle. Therefore, the slow and rhythmic nature of a lullaby makes the baby feel comfortable as they experience the natural feeling of their existence, that is being in their mother’s womb. The slow tempo also allows the baby to process the words of the song. Sometimes as an adult, it is difficult to understand things once so many people are speaking to you at once. It gets even harder when the languages are foreign. It is the same case with children. Lullabies should not be accompanied because this confuses the baby. The music instruments may sound foreign in the child’s ear not to mention that you are also singing. This may irritate the child making him/her cry.
Baby lullabies are timeless. They are not like modern music where songs are outdated. You will realise that those songs that your mother sang for you when you were young are the same ones that your infant enjoys.
Nowadays you don’t necessarily have to sing to your child personally each time they cry. Technology has made things simpler as you can record yourself singing hence the sound of your voice soothes your child as they tend to think that you are around. This may sound like deceiving your baby but it helps a lot especially when you are at work. This is because once you sing to baby constantly, they tend to prefer your voice as the mother over other females. This creates an emotional bond between the mother and child.There are also phone apps made specifically to sing lullabies for your child. There is one called the Best Baby Songs app which is an android app but the web version also works great on iPhones and iPads.
Medical research has shown that lullabies act as music therapy and it helps your child feed and sleep better. It also slows the heart rate of premature infants. Premature babies in the Intensive Care Unit that have lullabies sang to them through head phones tend to leave the hospital sooner. Lullabies also help in oxygen saturation hence preventing conditions like apnea. Singing for your child while you are nursing him increases the rate of feeding hence keeping your baby healthy.
