What’s the value of rhymes?
Monday 13 November sees the start of World Nursery Rhyme Week. So why bother with World Nursery Rhyme Week — in fact why bother singing to children at all?? Tanya Richardson, Programme Leader for Early Childhood Studies examines.
Well, firstly there is the science! Recent scientific research, carried out by Cambridge University, has found that children whose mothers talk to them in ‘motherese’ (that sing song way that we often find ourselves talking to children) and those who sing nursery rhymes with their children, are more in tune with each other. By analysing brain waves the scientists have found that the brain patterns are more in line when mothers engage in this activity. The prolonged eye contact that occurs when babies are being sung to is one of the reasons that the lead researcher in this study, Dr Victoria Leong, believes that this may be occurring.
So the science points to nursery rhymes being beneficial but also what I have observed through my practice over the years has evidenced this. Before I became a University lecturer I used to run music and movement sessions for young children. Parents used to bring their children along, and with props, puppets, instruments and scarves we used to sing for an hour at a time. The children, and the parents, loved it — as did I! Children who were fractious, children who did not like to sit still, children who did not socialise with others very well… they all came along and they all engaged. Seeing the delight on those children’s faces made this a very worthwhile activity for all!
The British Association for Music Therapy state that ‘music plays an important role in our everyday lives. It can be exciting or calming, joyful or poignant, can stir memories and powerfully resonate with our feelings, helping us to express them and to communicate with others.’ Music and nursery rhymes should be an integral part of every child’s life — the chance to experience nursery rhymes and singing should therefore be given to all children. This should not be the case for just one week of the year however, although this week is crucial to highlight the importance, but should be within children’s worlds on a daily basis.
I challenge you all to introduce more music into your worlds, even if you have no children!!! After all, in the words of Cheryl Crowe, “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad”!!!
To read more around this, you can access:
The British Association for Music Therapy — https://www.bamt.org/music-therapy/what-is-music-therapy.html
Leong, V, de Barbaro, K, and Wass, S (2014). A pilot study on mother-infant neural synchrony during live social interactions. New York Academy of Sciences conference on ‘Shaping the Developing Brain: Prenatal through Early Childhood’. New York.
