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 (31–40)
Gonbe-san’s Baby
Gonbe-san’s Baby was created based on an American folk song.
It’s a song featuring a character named Gonbe-san—who covers his head with a tenugui and ties it under his chin—and a baby.
It depicts a scene where the baby catches a cold, and you use your hands to show actions like holding the baby and having a bright idea.
You can enjoy a unique move where, in a fluster, you end up putting a cold compress on yourself by mistake.
Once you’re used to it, try picking up the tempo.
Give this hand play a try and make the most of this familiar melody that everyone has heard at least once.
What color do you like?
“What’s the name of my favorite color?” With the song “Which Color Do You Like?” kids can have fun singing while learning color names.
Children, who are naturally curious about the world around them, are likely feeling, even without saying it out loud, “I like this color” as they see many colors every day.
It’s great to tell them each time, “This is [color],” but learning through a song might make it easier to match the names with the colors.
As you sing, find the same colors in the things around you and in the clothes you’re wearing, and enjoy learning the names of colors.
a round egg
“Maarui Tamago” is a hand-play song themed around eggs, and the hand movements that match the onomatopoeia and mimetic words give a delightfully fun impression.
First, you put your hands together to represent a round egg.
Then you act out the egg cracking and a chick emerging from inside.
Since it features many onomatopoeic and mimetic expressions that children tend to love, it’s likely to capture their interest even more.
Another fun point is that sometimes a creature that doesn’t exist in real life hatches from the egg.
Panda, rabbit, koala
How about “Panda, Rabbit, Koala,” a hand-play song that became widely popular thanks to the NHK educational program Okaasan to Issho (With Mother)? The song is known for having lyrics written by Hiroo Takada.
It invites children to imitate the movements of the panda, rabbit, and koala that appear in the lyrics.
Its appeal also lies in the built-in variations and game-like elements, such as the tempo gradually speeding up.
Adding brief explanations between verses—like “Let’s line them up!”—might make it even more enjoyable.
Cute Hide and SeekSakushi: Satou Hachirou／Sakkyoku: Nakata Yoshinao
This is a gentle children’s song about a game of hide-and-seek played by adorable animals.
Hatchlings, sparrows, and puppies try their best to conceal themselves, warmly portrayed in the words of Hachirō Satō, with Yoshinao Nakada’s melody enhancing its charm even further.
First released in 1951, the piece has inspired children’s playfulness and curiosity toward animals.
The thrilling hide-and-seek unfolds in everyday scenes—gardens, rooftops, and meadows.
It’s perfect for singing with your child in fresh, green May, while thinking of the animals you might meet on a walk.
The rhythm of the lyrics and the friendly melody truly seem to express the joy of spring.