toddlers
Campaign launched amid concerns that lullabies are becoming a thing of the past as parents sing pop songs and theme tunes to tots
Parents are more likely to sing pop songs or TV theme tunes than lullabies to their children at bedtime according to research* released today. Almost nine in ten (88%) British parents admitted to singing and playing pop songs or TV theme tunes while a third (29%) said they sing or play sound tracks from children’s movies. One in ten parents even confessed to playing or singing rock music to their nippers.
So, is the beloved lullaby in danger of being ‘rocked out of the nursery’ by Lady Gaga?
Sadly, that seems to be the threat as, although almost half of parents quizzed (40%) thought that lullabies are great for teaching children words and music, only one in ten (12%) said they know the words to traditional lullabies.
With these time-honoured melodies not being passed down from generation to generation, will they soon be forgotten? Not according to Sophie Barker from Grammy Award-nominated Zero 7 who has recorded a collection of favourite bedtime cradlesongs and has set up a Facebook group to campaign to ‘Save the Lullaby!’.
"The album, ‘Lullaby’, makes a stand for our forgotten bedtime tunes," says Sophie, " it reminds parents of the magic and soothing quality of our traditional lullabies - we’ve even included a sing-a-long lyric book for those who are more likely to know the Friends theme tune than Frere Jacques."
Songs on the album include:
1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
3. Ride a Cock Horse
4. Lavender’s Blue
5. Frere Jacques
6. There was a Crooked Man
7. Sing a Song of Sixpence
8. Little Bo Peep
9. Baa Baa Black Sheep
10. Little Miss Muffet
11. Brahms Lullaby
12. Oranges And Lemons
13. Hush Little Baby
14. Rock a Bye Baby
15. Dream a Little Dream
16. The Owl and the Pussycat
17. Row Your Boat
18. Silent Night
*The survey was conducted by Toluna consumer group across a nationally representative sample of 513 UK consumers.