Nursery rhymes and play songs to enjoy with your baby. Gentle children's songs.
We’d like to introduce some nursery songs to enjoy with your baby.
These days, many babies are exposed to music from the time they’re in the womb through prenatal education.
Some families sing nursery rhymes as lullabies to help put their babies to sleep.
In this article, we’ve gathered gentle nursery songs and lullabies you’ll want to listen to with your baby, along with playful songs great for childcare and popular anime tunes.
They’re all fun songs that even babies who don’t understand words yet can enjoy.
Please try listening together as a parent and child.
Also perfect for baby massage!
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Nursery rhymes and play songs to enjoy with your baby: Gentle children's songs (11–20)
What color do you like?Sakushi Sakkyoku: Sakata Osamu
Things with lots of colors really capture a baby’s interest, don’t they? From there, they gradually become interested in drawing too, which can inspire them to create all kinds of pictures.
A great way to introduce different colors to babies is this children’s song called “Which Color Do You Like?” As the title suggests, it asks “Which color do you like?” and gives various answers with different favorite colors.
The song paints a heartwarming scene where, because it’s their favorite color, that crayon gets used up before any of the others.
It’s exciting to imagine which color your baby will be most drawn to—and which one they’ll use up first!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Song
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a picture book by American author Eric Carle that’s beloved around the world.
This song, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Song,” sets that story to music just as it is.
Of course, it’s fun to read the book and follow the narrative, but following the story through music engages the imagination in different ways, so it’s highly recommended! Even babies can let their imaginations expand in their own way.
The melody is gentle, as if it directly reflects the relaxed world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so you can listen in a calm, unhurried mood.
Knock knock knock knock, Grandpa with a beard
Tonton Tonton Hige Jiisan features all kinds of characters, like a bearded grandpa and a person wearing glasses.
It’s also popular as a fingerplay song where you act out the characters with your hands.
For the bearded grandpa, you place both hands in fists under your chin.
For the person with glasses, you make two circles with your hands and hold them over your eyes to look like you’re wearing glasses.
With its upbeat melody and visually engaging gestures, this song is fun even for babies to listen to!
skylark skylarkwarabeuta asobi
In the pleasantly breezy month of May, here’s a nursery rhyme game with a springtime bird theme that we hope parents and children will enjoy at a relaxed pace.
It’s characterized by short, repeated phrases that call to the birds and depict traveling over mountains and through valleys.
You can rock your child on your lap, use your fingertips to represent hills and valleys—there’s no single right way to play! Though it’s a traditional song passed down in local communities since long ago, new audio recordings with fresh ways of singing were released as recently as March 2021, and it continues to be loved today in various forms, especially in early childhood settings.
Precisely because there’s no fixed answer, you can tailor it to your child’s age and the atmosphere of the moment—that’s the charm of this piece.
On a warm, sunny day, why not find your own original way to play together with your child?
Mr. Bear, Mr. Bear
The nursery rhyme “Kuma-san, Kuma-san” imagines your baby as a cute little bear and can be used as a gentle exercise to move their arms and legs.
Move and bend your baby’s hands and feet to match the lyrics.
When moving their hands, it’s easier if Mom or Dad lets the baby hold onto their thumbs.
This song is also known as a jump-rope chant for playing double Dutch—children sing it while jumping and act out the movements in the lyrics.
With the hope that your child will enjoy those games when they’re older, use this song now to create a special bonding time between your baby and Mom or Dad!
Donguri Korokoro
The children’s song “Donguri Korokoro,” starring the acorns that fall all over the roads in autumn, has actually been around since the Taisho era.
It has appeared in music textbooks and was selected as one of Japan’s 100 Best Songs.
The story tells of an acorn that rolls and tumbles into a pond, where it meets a kind loach and plays together.
But the fun is short-lived; the acorn starts to miss the place it came from, and a sense of loneliness sets in.
Its whimsical world where an acorn and a loach play, along with the lively melody, is sure to delight even babies!
Nursery rhymes and play songs to enjoy with your baby. Gentle children's songs (21–30)
Buzz buzz buzz
Even slightly scary bees can feel cute in this children’s song, “Bun Bun Bun.” Based on a folk song that was sung in Bohemia, Czechia, it depicts bees buzzing around flowers in search of nectar.
In Japan, as the title suggests, the buzzing sound of a bee is expressed as “būn,” but in German the sound is expressed a bit differently, so the title there is “Summ, summ, summ.” Honeybees are essential for the growth of beautiful flowers, vegetables, and fruits.
If you don’t bother them, it’s rare to have a frightening experience, so when you see them while out for a walk, try singing or listening to this song from a safe distance.