[Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.
Kids love to sing!
Singing is a form of exercise, nurtures interest in language, and helps develop expressiveness and a sense of rhythm.
It’s also said that singing releases “happy hormones,” making it effective for relieving stress.
Bring plenty of music into daily life and sing freely together with your children.
This time, we’re introducing popular children’s songs we’d love you to sing and play with your kids!
We’ve collected everything from classic nursery rhymes passed down through the years to the latest hit songs.
You can search songs by category—animals, vehicles, food, and more—so you’re sure to find the perfect tune for your children.
If you add simple choreography or hand-play motions as well as singing, the kids will be thrilled!
Be sure to explore a variety of nursery rhymes and enjoy happy times with your children!
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Fingerplay song (1–10)
Zuizui Zukkorobashi
Many hand-play songs are for two people, but Zuizui Zukkorobashi is a hand-play song that can be played by two or more.
This song describes presenting tea to a shogun in the Edo period.
One person extends their index finger, while the others make tube shapes with both hands.
The finger is inserted into each “tube” in turn, and when the song ends, the hand that has the finger in it is pulled away.
The person who can pull away the fastest wins.
Denderaryuba
It’s a famous children’s song handed down in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Many people outside Nagasaki may also have learned it in kindergarten or elementary school.
The dialect heard in the lyrics leaves a strong impression and feels a bit like wordplay.
Even children who don’t yet understand words can enjoy it, and those who can speak well can have fun with it like a tongue twister! It’s even more enjoyable when combined with hand motions.
Inside-out pots!
It’s a children’s song played while holding hands.
In time with the song, you do a half turn without letting go, ending up back-to-back.
Then, again to the song, you return to the original position.
It works well with a large group, too.
The melody is very similar to “Kagome Kagome.” It’s said that “Kagome Kagome” and “Nabe Nabe Soko Nuke” may have been created from the same original song.
Knock knock knock knock, Grandpa with a beard
It’s a classic, well-known hand game song that moms and dads, as well as grandparents, are familiar with.
You make both hands into fists and tap them together, using your clenched hands to represent “Bearded Old Man,” “Bumpy Old Man,” “Tengu,” and “Glasses.” At the end, you open your hands into palms facing up and place them on your knees.
You can also change it up by placing them somewhere other than your knees.
Food Song (11–20)
A food song that makes mealtimes fun!
Many moms and dads may struggle during their children’s mealtime—like when kids can’t resist the urge to play and leave the table, or when picky eaters won’t eat much. In such moments, how about singing nursery rhymes that make mealtime more fun? Give it a try! Reference article:
The Food Song (1–10)
Ghost PancakesTokyo Haiji
There are many nursery rhymes about ghosts, but this one is interesting for its unique idea of ghosts making pancakes.
It starts off with a somewhat eerie tone, but turns cheerful partway through.
Listening to it makes you crave pancakes!
tomatoDaichi Omi
There are quite a few children’s songs that feature tomatoes, and perhaps their popularity comes from the cuteness of the name and the fact that it reads the same from top to bottom and bottom to top.
This particular song has lyrics by Takeshi Shoji and music by Megumi Oonaka.
It’s a nursery rhyme that charmingly personifies tomatoes—for example, saying they wear blue clothes when they’re children, but change into red clothes when they grow up.
My Mixed JuiceShibuya Takeshi
It’s a song that says if you put everything in a blender, make a mixed juice, and drink it, something wonderful might happen today.
The childlike imagination in the lyrics is very cute.
If we sing this song, we might even be able to sneak in a vegetable mixed juice and they’ll drink it!
