Parents all over the world sing to their babies whether it’s to help them sleep. Also make them smile or just feel connected. Now, a new research shows that this common parenting habit actually has lasting benefits. A study published in Child Development found that when parents sing more often to their babies, the babies tend to be in better mood.
Researchers of Yale University did a 10-week online survey with 110 families. Where most of them were infants. Age was under six months old. Most participants lived in the U.S. or New Zealand.
The goal was simple, encourage parents to sing more often to their babies and see what effect it had over time.
The team gave one group of parents fun tools to help them sing more like karaoke-style videos, weekly tips and musical books made for babies. They didn’t tell parents how or when to sing, just gave them ideas and support to include singing naturally during their day.
To keep track of results, parents got short surveys on their phones at random times. The surveys asked how their baby was feeling, if the baby had been fussy, what they did to calm the baby and how the parents were feeling.
By the end of the program, about 90% of parents who got the singing materials were actively singing during the survey times. That’s much higher than the 65% of parents who hadn’t received the materials yet. These parents also sang more often each day and importantly they kept singing more even after the study was over.
The most exciting result?
Babies whose parents sang more often were in better moods. Even when music wasn’t involved at the moment of the survey, parents reported that their babies seemed generally happier after the four week intervention. This pattern didn’t show up in the control group.
Even though babies became happier, their parents’ moods stayed about the same. This means the babies felt better because of the singing not because their parents were happier. Parents also started using singing to calm their upset babies even though no one told them to do that.
Lead researcher Eun Cho explained that even unfamiliar lullabies like those from other cultures or in other languages can calm babies. She believes the act of singing itself is what matters most. It is not only how well someone sings or what song they choose.
The study had a few problems. Most of the families were white, well-educated and already sang to their babies a lot. Also, the study only used what parents said which might not show the full picture. Still, the results look good so the researchers are starting a bigger and longer study to see if singing, music or reading can help babies and their parents feel better.
So, if you’re a parent or caregiver, don’t worry about singing perfectly. Just sing often. It could help brighten your baby’s day and maybe even yours.