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Here’s a truth that might surprise you. Some of the best ways to help your kids build skills and become confident readers? Singing songs, rhyming, and letting Broadway show tunes belt through your speakers like your SUV is Times Square.
Not joking. Music and rhymes are secret superheroes in building phonemic awareness, a fancy term for when kids start hearing and playing with the tiny sounds that make up words. And phonemic awareness? It’s a huge stepping stone for reading.
Why Music, Rhymes, and Words Matter
Long before kids can read words on a page, they need to hear how words are put together. Rhyming, in particular, is like a decoder ring for little brains. When kids notice that “cat” and “hat” sound the same, they’re recognizing sound patterns, which is an important piece of the literacy puzzle.
Here’s why this matters. Rhyming helps develop phonemic awareness, or the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in words. This skill is one of the building blocks of reading success. When kids can hear that “bat,” “cat,” and “hat” share the same ending sounds, they’re already laying the foundation for decoding words later. This makes it easier for them to tackle spelling and figure out unfamiliar words as they begin to read.
Research shows that kids who engage with rhymes and songs are better prepared for reading and writing in school. Rhyming strengthens memory, helps kids anticipate patterns in language, and teaches them how sounds assemble into words. It’s not just about silly poems; it’s about building the tools they’ll need to master spelling quizzes and, eventually, write essays with ease.
And the best part? Rhymes make it fun. When learning feels like play, kids naturally want to engage more, soaking up those valuable sound lessons without even realizing it.
Where Did the Nursery Rhymes Go?
Here’s the thing, though. Parents don’t sing nursery rhymes much anymore. Back in the day, “Itsy Bitsy Spider” was practically a parenting rite of passage. Where is Thumbkin? I don’t know, but we used to talk about him all the time. But now, screens and apps have taken over a lot of those moments. A YouTube video of a cartoon spider might be more convenient to play while you’re making dinner. I get it—we’ve all been there.
Still, there’s something uniquely powerful about a parent’s voice in these early years. It’s interactive, it’s personal, and it invites children to join in. Studies even show that kids pay the most attention when you sing, even if you can’t carry a tune to save your life. Bring back the nursery rhymes! Here is a Dr. Seuss beginner set (perfect for rhyming) and popular nursery rhymes.
And believe me—I cannot sing. My husband, on the other hand, has a fabulous voice and I am so glad he plays the guitar. He brought those nursery rhymes to life! He was the one teaching the kids actual music, while I was more on the “enthusiastic back-up singer” end of things. But you know what? It didn’t matter at all. The kids didn’t care that I can’t hit a high note without sounding like a squawking bird. They cared that I was singing and rhyming with them.
Turns out, the act of singing itself is what counts. Whether you’re channeling Adele or barely scraping by with an off-key “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” your child is soaking in the words, rhythms, and love all the same.
How to Bring Back Rhymes and Music
Good news! Adding music and rhymes to your daily life isn’t complicated. You don’t need to buy fancy instruments, start a toddler band, or build a Spotify playlist of toddler jams (though hey, that’s fun too). Just start singing and rhyming in everyday moments. Here are some simple and joyful ways to weave it in:
- Start at Breakfast. When my kids were little, we’d kick off mornings with nursery rhymes. Whether it was “You Are My Sunshine” or “Hickory Dickory Dock,” these simple songs brought us together for a cheerful start.
- Make Bedtime Musical. Before stories at night, we’d do a lullaby or a slow nursery rhyme to wind things down. Pro tip? “Rock-a-Bye Baby” is practically sedative-level soothing.
- Sing in the Car. Spoiler alert—I am obsessed with Broadway. In fact, our whole family is. Our car rides were full-on musicals. From Hairspray to Les Misérables, those show tunes became our kids’ first lyric-filled vocabulary lessons. My husband’s voice carries the tracks, while I join in enthusiastically if not very skillfully.
- Music at Home. Music was more than background noise in our house; it was the atmosphere. Whether I was folding laundry or cooking dinner, you better believe there was a playlist blasting. And not just kids’ songs—we mixed genres so the kids got a little bit of everything. And if you have singers (or even if you don’t) karaoke is a ton of fun. This microphone set was a favorite at our house.
- Make Up Silly Rhymes. Cooking? Grocery shopping? Wrangling toys off the floor? Perfect opportunities for rhyme time! “Where, oh where, do the spoons go? Under the peas or in a row?” It’s fun, it’s effective, and yes, it makes chores slightly more tolerable.
Broadway Birthed Bookworms
I can trace my kids’ love of words and performing arts back to those early Broadway singalongs. When I realized they were learning the lyrics to Cabaret I knew I had to shift to more kid friendly productions, Lion King, anyone? Show tunes are lyrical masterpieces of storytelling, packed with vivid vocabulary. I mean, how can you belt out One Day More or Defying Gravity without stumbling into words like “revolution” and “trajectory”? Show tunes are basically phonics lessons in disguise.
By the time my kids went to school, they weren’t just readers. They were kids who loved understanding, performing, and exploring language (if only they were as naturally skilled at math). And honestly, I like to think the Broadway sing-offs in our living room were a piece of that puzzle. Rhythmic lyrics merge seamlessly with the rhythm of language itself.
Singing Into Their Future
What starts with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Do You Hear the People Sing?” plants seeds for so much more. It’s not just literacy. Music develops memory, critical thinking, and auditory skills. Singing together fosters connection, builds confidence, and boosts creativity. Being part of a song teaches patterns, teamwork, and resilience.
If you’re singing way off key like me, that’s okay. You’re not auditioning for The Voice. You’re building memories and giving your kids a spoken and musical foundation for life.
Don’t Worry About Perfection
Here’s the point, and it’s a big one. Your ability to sing (or not) doesn’t matter in the slightest. What matters is the effort. The shared moments. The words and rhythms you offer your kids, day after day.
Whether it’s a nursery rhyme at breakfast, a lullaby at bedtime, or a full-blown “Les Mis” family car ride, these songs are doing more than filling the air. They’re building readers, thinkers, and little humans who know that joy can be found in a lyric, and love can be heard—even if it’s slightly out of tune.
Turn up the music. Sing out loud. Your kids will thank you someday. Especially when they’re belting “One Day More” on stage and rocking their vocab tests.
