Baby Rhymes

Can’t make it to BabyTimes this week - why not try it at home? Click on the letters below to learn some of our favourite action rhymes to play at home.

How babytime activities help your baby develop…

Singing and chanting

  • help in the development of memory skills
  • encourage baby to make new sounds and learn new words
  • assist in developing a sense of rhythm
  • appeal to babies’ fascination with the human voice
  • patting while singing and chanting helps baby learn about beat

Rhymes

  • help with language acquisition
  • help develop memory skills
  • encourage baby to make new sounds and expand vocabulary

Tactile play and massaging

  • boost awareness of baby’s body and body parts
  • moving baby’s arms and legs helps them learn about new types of movement and mimics skills like crawling
  • increase hand-eye co-ordination in preparation for walking
  • massaging both feet or both hands encourages both left and right-brain activity at the same time; this increases the functionality of the brain.
  • touching the opposite arm and leg together also promotes left and right-brain stimulation in unison

Music

  • stimulates the brain and engages baby’s attention
  • stimulates all the senses
  • soothing music induces relaxation and sleep
  • aids memory development
  • encourages rhythmic movement

Rocking, swaying and hanging upside-down

  • develop the vestibular system which is responsible for co-ordination and sense of balance

Bubbles, feathers, scarves

  • watching bubbles, scarves and toys helps visual skills like tracking, distance and depth perception
  • trying to catch a bubble or grab a scarf develops hand-eye co-ordination

Tips for playing with your baby

  • vary the speed of rhymes and songs and keep eye contact with your baby
  • always balance one side with the other
  • tracking a figure eight around your baby’s eyes will stimulate the whole brain
  • often instinctive activities like bouncing and rocking baby as they sit on your knee help with your baby’s development

Useful resources

In our catalogue

Web sites

We believe these rhymes are free of copyright. If you have information to the contrary, please let us know.

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