The development of speech and language is a continuous process that begins in the first three years of life. This early development is intricately linked to a child’s experiences with conversations, songs, nursery rhymes, action games, stories, and picture books. One of the key predictors of literacy success is how well children know their nursery rhymes.
Why Nursery Rhymes Matter
Singing nursery rhymes or reading simple nursery rhyme books helps children develop speech and language skills. Rhyming words like "cat" and "hat" encourage children to differentiate between similar sounds and letters, fostering phonemic awareness before they start school. Rhymes also help children identify non-rhyming words, predict missing words, create strings of rhymes, and retell stories without a book.
However, a Government survey covered by The Telegraph in 2019 found that 8% of children under five in the UK had never learned songs, poems, or nursery rhymes. In the same group, 14% of four- and five-year-olds lacked early communication and literacy skills, and 12% had never learned numbers or how to count. To equip children with the skills they need for school, it is crucial for parents to sing nursery rhymes from an early age.
Rhythm and Rhyme
Nursery rhymes have a simple, predictable, rhythmic pattern that helps children memorize speech patterns. For example, "Twinkle, Twinkle" has six notes within a child's pitch range and a clear beginning, middle, and end. The rhyme starts and ends the same way and is repeated, allowing the child to anticipate each phrase and join in with the singing and actions.
Rhymes with a simple, steady beat and repetitive language, such as "Pat-a-cake" and "Round and Round the Garden," are ideal for toddlers. More energetic action songs like "The Grand Old Duke of York" and "London Bridge is Falling Down" help older children recognize differences in pitch, melody, and repeated sound patterns.
When parents sing nursery rhymes, words and phrases slow down, making speech easier for the child to hear and follow. The child also builds a vocabulary long before understanding the meanings.
Number rhymes like "Five Little Speckled Frogs" and "Ten Fat Sausages" introduce children to numbers, patterns, and sequences, making learning to count fun!
Benefits of Nursery Rhymes
Listening to and singing nursery rhymes helps children:
Learn new words
Build vocabulary
Improve comprehension
Develop listening skills
Identify sound changes in words
Feel the rhythm and beat of rhymes
Recognize differences in melody
Identify different rhythms, stresses, and intonations of language
Recognize repeated sound patterns
Memorize speech patterns through repetition
Learn rhymes by heart from a young age
Mirror actions like clapping, patting, and stamping
Take turns
Release stress and tension
Develop manipulative skills
Improve coordination
Maintain attention and concentration
Increase social skills
Think creatively
Establish a sense of order (mathematical reasoning)
Develop a love of books and stories
Understand their culture
Connect to the past
Simple and repetitive rhythms and words give children a sense of mastery as they learn them by heart, boosting self-esteem and belonging. Regularly singing nursery rhymes increases vocabulary, strengthens memory, and fosters creative thinking.
Rhymes with Actions
Repetitive nursery rhymes with actions help children learn musically, verbally, visually, and physically. They also increase body awareness, coordination, and control.
Traditional rhyming songs like "Wind the Bobbin Up" and "Head and Shoulders" have delighted children for generations. Rhymes involving puppets, like "Tommy Thumb," provide rich learning opportunities, from visual stimulation to speech development, and encourage engaging adult-child interactions.
