Parents are all too familiar with every technique in the book to calm down overtired babies. But sometimes, swaying your baby back and forth simply won’t cut it. When your baby is showing signs of restlessness and fussing around just minutes before bedtime, lullabies are one of the most effective self-soothing skills in your parent arsenal.

Between picking up a book and singing a little tune, a study from the Official Journal of International Congress of Infant Study shows that babies respond better to singing lullabies rather than normal speech when it comes to distressing a baby. So, with a child at such a delicate and responsive age, what are the proven effective lullabies to calm down a restless child? Here are some good ones.

Proven Effective Lullabies for Overtired Babies

Common Tongue Lullabies

The study conducted on lullabies shows that even though babies were able to calm down with songs in a language foreign to them, the ones sang in their native tongue resulted in a better response because of its familiarity. Moreover, it is no secret that songs can play a role in language learning. So, singing to a baby in his or her common tongue can help to enhance their oral comprehension.

Good Classic Lullabies

The classics such as “Rock-a-bye Baby”, “Humpty Dumpty”, “Three Blind Mice” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” are some of the first lullabies mums everywhere think of whenever the baby wakes up fussy. Well, guess what? These old but gold little ditties never run out of style. These are the songs we all know by heart for a good reason. The words are simple and aren’t hard to forget. And yes, they may be repetitive in both melody and beat, but that’s exactly the point! The repetition creates a pattern in which the baby can associate bedtime with positive things. Therefore, whenever your baby hears the song, their mind will associate it with bedtime, helping them sleep faster.

Contemporary-Turned-Baby-Soothing Lullabies

If you’d rather try something more meaningful than a song about stars or a baby cradled on a treetop, Riley Children’s Health recommends soothing and calming music to keep your baby at ease. After all, this intimate moment of singing to your child is another gateway to connection, so you can pick a special song that you’d love your baby to hear. You would need to make sure that the song is relaxing, simple and has a child-friendly message, even though they’re at the age when they can’t quite fully understand the lyrics. If you can’t seem to pick one, this lullaby playlist by kinderling.com compiles Australia’s favourite songs mums love to sing before bedtime.

It is also important to note is that singing to your baby in person rather than playing a soundtrack produces much better effects. Research shows that singing the lullaby yourself can help soothe infants since they hear their mum’s voices rather than a studio version of the same lullaby. However, if you are not the best singer in the world, no need to panic, since singing out of tune has no effects on the infants. So, don’t give into stage fright in front of your own child. As far as they know, you’re the best singer they’ve heard so far!

If your baby needs a lot more help than that, then give the Nurture Sleep Program a try. This all-around sleep program teaches you how to follow bedtime schedules, other effective self-soothing skills, and foods that can help your baby slowly drift to sleep. Contact Nurture Parenting today!

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