Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. Around our house we’re currently on baby watch. My oldest daughter is pregnant with her first child and it’s due in a matter of days. Her pregnancy has put me in a mood to reminisce, to remember when she was just a little one herself. And one of my very favorite memories is of tucking her (and later her siblings) into bed with lullabies.
Singing lullabies to young children seems to be something ingrained in all of us – it crosses classes, cultures, and generations. I sang them from an early age myself. I have a sister who’s ten years younger than me. When she outgrew her crib and moved into the king-sized bed with me and my middle sister I began singing her to sleep. It was a ritual we both enjoyed and I continued singing to her at bedtime until I headed off to college eight years later. I also did quite a bit of babysitting during my high school years, and I reached into my stock of lullabies when I had a fussy child that needed soothing.
So when I had kids of my own, it became a much-looked-forward-to part of the good night ritual. I allowed each of my four children to pick their choice of songs when I tucked them into bed.
But I rarely used conventional lullabies. Our repertoire included silly children’s songs, show tunes, vacation bible school songs, hymns and even Christmas carols. I thought I’d share links to some of this eclectic collection (I’ve starred their favorites)
* There Once Was An Ugly Duckling
Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man
What do you think – Are any of these songs unfamiliar to you? Do you have a favorite lullaby of your own? Or perhaps special memories associated with lullabies? >
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