What songs do you sing to your child(ren)?

[McD]

Do you have any special songs that you sing to your kids?

[shortstack]

The one that comes right to mind is that I sing Greensleeves to my daughter but replace Greensleeves with her name "Gracie" I also sing her Amazing Grace.
My daughter loves me to sing her to sleep but my son just tells me SSHHH. He does love during the day to sing the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song so I sing that on and off for him during the day.

Andrea

[AmyBoz]

We are a little strange, the kids and I. We kinda sing everything to each other. We have conversations in song with each other. I often think that it keeps door to door salesmen away because they probably come to our door and hear us singing about emptying the dishwasher and back, slowly away.

With regards to specific songs, we sing a lot of the songs that the boys sing at nursery school.

At bedtime, the boys have a singing routine (I'd be happy to deviate, but they like their routine.) We sing Twinkle, Twinkle, then the ABC's, then say prayers, and then we sing Lullaby. Julia is an equal opportunity bedtime song girl, but her favorite is "I love my little Julia" which is, obviously, a made up song.

My Mom always sings "Sing a Song of Sixpence" to the kids, and Matthew is constantly asking her to sing "Dickey bird."

[IntlMom]

We sing Jesus Loves Me to our kids.....now my daughter sings it to her babies, and my younger son sings it to her when her sister cries/

[forHISglory]

Ah, your question brings back great memories! We sang a lot of religious songs to kids and grandkids: Jesus loves me, Be careful little eyes what you see, Jesus loves the little children, Deep and wide, This little light of mine.....

We also liked old folk tunes: Clementine, O Susanna, Have you ever heard of sweet Betsy from Pike.....

And we sang the fun songs: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ferdinand, On Top of Spaghetti......

Like AmyBoz, we made up songs, too.

So many more, but my mind's a blank right now.

[forHISglory]

Forgot to add show tunes: Songs from My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof. A favorite was "Hey Look Me Over" from Wildcat. Grandkids love Zipadedodah. I taught theatre and directed musicals for years, so this type of music was BIG in our house!

[hwmabire3]

I've sung "You are my sunshine" do my daughter ever since she was born. Now, it's one of her favorite songs and her face lights up and she starts to dance when I sing it to her.

[nvmommyx6]

I am sure the salesmen (if they even try to come here anymore!!) Would back away from my house!! I rock out doing my chores during the daytime to all sorts of disney tunes!! I am sure they think it is probably a daycare from hell in here!

We sing, oh, happy day, you are my sunshine, down by the bay. Ours is a very musical family, we all sing and dance a lot! Now that the kids are older, we sing together a ton of different music, we also do, "the chicken dance" to the chicken dance song, almost every day too!!! And yes that does include the tweens and teens!!!

[Moor]

DD/18 always wanted the Star Spangled Banner sung to her. With Amazing Grace, Give them all to Jesus, Rock of Ages, The Old Rugged Cross, Whispering Hope, and O Happy Day.

DD/12 and DD/10 both wanted Down by the Riverside, I'll Fly Away, How Great Thou Art, Sweet Buelah Land, and a song my grandfather wrote, Hills of Glory.

[zakity]

I used to sing "Daisy" (also known as the bicycle built for two song) to the boys when they were babies.

Now, we sing along to Quiet Riot, ACDC, Twisted Sister, etc.

[nuisance26]

~My son loves for me to sing to him. His current fave is Old McDonald. My dd absolutely hates singing. As a baby if I would try to sing her a lullaby she would cry louder. Even now when she hears singing she covers her ears and yells so she doesn't have to hear it. She doesn't seem to mind songs on tv though and she sings a couple of songs herself. Several are from Heffalumps and she sings Trust in Me from Jungle Book. I like to sing all the time so it's been strangely quiet here the last several years.~

[MisaLady]

My mom used to sing us "Sweet Violets" (and then, I sung it to my littlest sister when my mother was working so much and didn't have time to do so often). I found a cute YouTube video with it:

[KKCondrey]

Paige likes Itsy Bitsy Spider & Hush Little baby. When I first started singing Hush Little baby to her we did it because we would get the first line out and she would say Shhhh, and out her finger up to her lips and do that til we stopped. Now she asks for it but say's "Sing Mockingbird" If she's not tired it could go on and on for day's but on the nights she's wiped out I might have to sing it 3 times sometimes 4 to make sure she's down for the count.

[McD]

I guess I should answer my own question, huh?

I sing a lot of songs to Wesley and I have ever since we were little. Sometimes, he tells me to stop singing now, but most of the time, he loves it. I sing a lot of the silly nursery rhyme songs: 5 Little Monkeys jumping on the bed, 5 little Monkeys teasing the alligator, Tiny Turtle, Baby BumbleBee, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, etc. I also sing You are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, Somewhere over the Rainbow. We sing the ABC's, we make up a lot of songs. We love singing Veggie Tales songs and Sesame Street songs, especially Monster in the Mirror.

Then I have my special Wesley songs. Ever since he was born I have sang Bad to the Bone to him and on the music between the words I tickle him. I also sing Born to be Wild but switch out Wild for Wesley. And when he was a baby, I took the song, I think by the Fray called CableCar?, that says every body knows I'm in over my head, over my head and switched it to every baby knows he's in over his diapey, over his diapey.

[MoonMommy]

These are the songs I sing before bedtime:
My kids call it "mommy's song" but it really is Power of Two by Indigo Girls. Here are the lyrics:

now the parking lot is empty everyone's gone someplace
i pick you up and in the trunk i've packed a cooler and a 2 day suitcase
cause there's a place we like to drive way out in the country
live miles out of the city limit we're singing and your hand's upon my knee

so we're okay we're fine
baby i'm here to stop your crying
chase all the ghosts from your head
i'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed
smarter than the tricks played on your heart
we'll look at them together then we'll take them apart
adding up the total of a love that's true multiply life by the power of two

you know the things that i am afraid of
i'm not afraid to tell and
if we'd ever leave a legacy
it's that we loved each other
well i've seen the shadows of so many people
trying on the treasures of youth
a road that fancy and fast ends in a fatal crash
and i'm glad we got off to tell you the truth

cause we're okay we're fine
baby i'm here to stop your crying
chase all the ghosts from your head
i'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed
smarter than the tricks played on your heart
we'll look at them together then we'll take them apart
adding up the total of a love that's true
multiply life by the power of two

all the shiny little trinkets of temptation (make new friends) something new instead of something old (but keep the old)
all you gotta do is scratch beneath the surface (and remember what is gold)
and it's fools gold fools gold fools gold (what is gold what is gold)

and now we're talking about a difficult thing and your eyes are getting wet
but i took us for better and i took us for worse
and don't you ever forget
it is the steel bars between me and a promise
suddenly bend with ease
and the closer i'm bound in love to you
the closer i am to free

so we're okay we're fine
baby i'm here to stop your crying
chase all the ghosts from your head
i'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed
smarter than the tricks played on your heart
we'll look at them together then we'll take ‘em apart
adding up the total of a love that's true
multiply life by the power of two

I also sing Marbled Halls (Enya has a version)

Marble Halls
by Enya
I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls
with vassels and serfs at my side,
and of all who assembled within those walls
that I was the hope and the pride.
I had riches all too great to count
and a high ancestral name.
But I also dreamt which pleased me most
that you loved me still the same,
that you loved me
you loved me still the same,
that you loved me
you loved me still the same.

I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,
that knights upon bended knee
and with vows no maidens heart could withstand,
they plesged their faith to me.
And I dreamt that one of that noble host
came forth my hand to claim.
But I also dreamt which charmed me most
that you loved me still the same
that you loved me
you loved me still the same,
that you loved me
you loved me still the same.

I also like to sing Laurie Berkners' Moon Moon Moon
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYm1SLYI8l0[/media]

Or "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-6fYCMqSN4[/media]


The rest of the day, Like Amyboz, I also will make up songs and sing just about anything. The kids find it funny. I love music, so if the TV isn't on, the radio is and it isn't always kids music.