Songs to help toddlers talk – for parents too
We all know the typical nursery fare of The Wheels on the Bus and can belt out Let it Go with the best of our toddler’s loudest whistle tones but what happens the day that you really don’t want to press play on Baby Shark for the fifty thousandth time? The repetition in these songs make them great for little ones’ speech but there’s also plenty out there that won’t make you want to throw your phone out of the car window. I actually consulted with a speech therapist for this list so here’s my suggestions for pop songs that will hopefully inspire your toddler too.
Higher – Taio Cruz
We call this the swing song in our house. The chorus is more or less ‘higher’ repeated and helps remind our toddler of her favourite command to Daddy when he’s pushing her at the playground. Higher is an early word for plenty of first-time speakers so this is a great song for them to sing along to.
Runnin’ (Lose it All) – Naughty Boy feat Beyonce.
‘Runnin’, runnin’, runnin’, runnin’; ‘runnin’, runnin’, runnin” – this song is so repetitive it makes Old MacDonald look like an Eminem freestyle rap. But it does mean next time your toddler is toddling all over your living room, you’ll have one of the best songs for speech.
Happy – Pharrell Williams
While I’m still waiting for the day that I feel like a room without a roof, this song’s beat and words help reinforce what being happy is to toddlers who feel it often. Extra parent points if you ‘clap along if that’s what you want to do’ to link it to that other ‘Happy’ (and you know it) song.
Count on Me – Bruno Mars
The clue is in the name: this is a great song to reinforce those early numbers. For those with more advanced language skills, the verses are also great at linking up key ideas and easy for adding hand actions.
It’s Oh So Quiet – Bjork
When you’re trying to teach your child language, you’re meant to narrate what’s happening throughout your day. This means there’s lots of opportunities to describe ‘loud’, ‘shout’, ‘scream’ and ‘tantrum’ but not so many to describe ‘peace and quiet’. This song’s verses (Shhh, It’s, oh, so quiet…) at least gave us the words to use when our toddler’s baby sister was napping.
Running Up That Hill – Kate Bush
I’ve already mentioned this song on my birthing playlist suggestions. But it’s the ultimate earworm and helps expand the word ‘running’ into a full sentence. You can also use the tune throughout your day when you’re on a neighbourhood walk – ‘running down the path’, ‘running through the trees’.
Green, Green Grass – George Ezra
‘Green, green grass, blue, blue sky’ – a great way of reinforcing colours and the best example of them. An honourable mention should also be made for ‘Shotgun’ with its mentions of ‘hot sun’, ‘yellow and green’ and ‘two in the front and two in the back’, making it a great toddler driving anthem (if you ever knew there was such a thing).
Hot N Cold – Katy Perry
To keep it squeaky clean, you might want the radio edit version that removes that naughty B-word in the second line. However the chorus is a great example of opposites to help expand your toddler’s vocabulary. Katy Perry even did a controversial duet of the song with Elmo on Sesame Street.
I Want It All – Queen
A little word of advice: if you ever want to reinforce the sentence starter ‘I want…’, make a playlist of Queen songs. While ‘I want to ride my bicycle’ and ‘I want to break free’ are enough to hammer it home, ‘I want it all and I want it now’ is probably the most relevant phrase in a toddler’s repertoire.
Most Beatles songs
Beatlemania lives on in my house. So many of their songs tap into the mind of a toddler and they’re goddamn catchy too. ‘Help!’ is one of the first words a child learns. ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ is one of the first sentences. ‘Yellow Submarine’ makes an appearance at most toddler music groups. ‘Hello, Goodbye’ is perfect for learning opposites. ‘She Loves You’, ‘Let It Be’, and ‘Love Me Do’ all have those vital repetitive hooks. I mean, practically a newborn could join in Hey Jude’s refrain of ‘na na na naaa’*. In short, if you want to make a playlist of speech songs for your toddler, you should start off by adding most of the Beatles back catalogue.
*I was exaggerating. No newborn can do this. Don’t start frantically googling because your newborn isn’t singing Hey Jude to you.
