Have you ever thought your baby isn’t eating properly? A new baby rhyme might solve the problem. Or, is your baby getting bored while you are busy with household chores? You are not alone. Although allowing your child to watch rhymes and cartoons for an extended period is not healthy, as it may make your baby less social or not so talkative, watching them for a limited time can actually be beneficial. Most rhymes nowadays are designed to teach babies different lessons, helping them interact with the world once they start engaging in outdoor activities. Some rhymes teach how to bathe, others teach vehicle names, and some introduce different farm animals. Watching these in a controlled manner can significantly benefit your child’s development.
I started letting my baby watch rhymes when he was 5 months old. Initially, he didn’t quite understand what was happening. He would glance at the TV and then leave. But as days passed, he began to understand and enjoy the rhymes.
You must have heard of Cocomelon—my little one just loves it. He used to adore ‘Five Little Ducklings,’ which teaches counting as the ducks fall off the bed one by one. However, he has heard this song so many times that he’s no longer interested. There are other songs with the same tune but different stories and scenarios.
Before proceeding, I’d like to mention something important. Most 3D rhymes are arguably detrimental to baby’s growth. For example, in Cocomelon, the frame changes every 1-3 seconds, releasing a burst of dopamine, making it somewhat addictive. This can harm your baby’s attention span, making it difficult for them to engage in tasks for long periods. However, this is debatable and not beyond dispute. Some researchers suggest letting your baby watch shows with a slower frame rate, perhaps 8 seconds per frame. It’s your job to sit, watch, and manually count the timing before letting your kid watch. Recently, I tried letting my baby watch some 2D cartoons, which seemed appropriate, but he didn’t like them. I’ll list some names that might be safe for your baby at the end of this article.
Next, ‘The Wheels on the Bus’—she loves it the most, I guess. As soon as the intro starts, she begins giggling. Cocomelon offers several other popular rhymes. ‘Baby Shark’ is another brilliant rhyme that introduces different family members: mama shark, papa shark, brother, sister, grandma, and grandpa shark all move, swim, and sing for the baby shark, allowing your little one to imagine themselves as the baby shark.
‘Old McDonald’ is a classic song my baby loves a lot. The rhyme is about a farmer named McDonald who works at a farm. As the song progresses, your baby will become familiar with common farm animals such as cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, and their sounds. It’s a great way to learn about farm animals and the sounds they make. In the past, we had to read these out of books and make the sounds ourselves. Now, this can be easily done with rhymes. However, reading from books still has its own unique value.
Another song my baby enjoys a lot is ‘Finger Family’. It introduces your baby to different fingers on our hand—Daddy, Mommy, Brother, and Sister fingers—which honestly sounded funny to me, as I am not originally from this part of the world and was surprised that people here name their fingers this way.
As for safer options I was talking about earlier; Ms. Rachel (on YouTube), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bluey, and Sesame Street could be good options. But I would suggest watching them before you let your child do so. Happy rhyming!