Nursery Rhymes: 7 Reasons Why They Are Critical to Early Childhood Development

You might be asking yourself if nursery rhymes are outdated and worn thin, since they’ve been around for ages. After all, everyone has heard them all before. There must be newer, more updated children’s materials available today.

Of course there are new materials, but maybe the real question to be asking is if the new stuff gives the same value. Nursery rhymes, such as those found here, have stood the test of time because they deliver. Could they are just as important today as they were three or four hundred years ago? Most definitely. These seven reasons explain why:

1. WE may think they are passe, but remember that nursery rhymes are brand new to each new crop of toddlers, who have never heard them before.

2. The best way to begin teaching reading, language, literacy and counting skills is still through nursery rhymes. Plus, they are a great way to familiarize your child with letters, sounds and words in print, as well as numbers.

3. Nursery rhymes include the basic sounds, words and phrases that make up our language. That makes them the best preparation for the development of more complex speaking skills.

4. Mother Goose still makes sense. The language we speak today is very close to the same language that we spoke hundreds of years ago.

5. Because both sides of your child’s brain are accessed at the same time when moving and/or clapping to the rhyme, nursery rhymes help develop intelligence.

6. Nursery rhymes naturally lead to singing, as many rhymes are also songs. Singing leads to musical experiences, which again access both sides of your child’s brain at the same time. Add appropriate movement at the appropriate time (when the song is extremely familiar) and you exponentially boost mind-body brain development.

7. Nursery rhymes reinforce left-right brain coordination, motor skills and musical fluency, which accesses parts of the brain that nothing else can access. Early childhood is the perfect time for this type of brain development. Children that don’t get sufficient experiences in singing and moving rhythmically to simple tunes in childhood can show slow learning in other subjects, such as reading and math later on.

In short, nursery rhymes are developmentally perfect for young children. If you want to boost your child’s mind-body development, left-right brain coordination, motor skills and musical fluency and lay a solid groundwork for future success in learning, start with time-tested nursery rhymes.