GRAND Magazine - Winter 2023 - 11

lullabies
Lullabies have been with us for as long as human
beings have made sounds, and they're found in
every culture on the planet. They are also surprisingly
similar across cultures-even if we don't know
the language, we can tell when a song is a lullaby
because it sounds gentle and soothing. So there
must be something very special about this universal
genre.
There is. Science has verified that singing lullabies
are important for the physical and emotional
well-being of a baby. However, what I've learned
from my research-and from my experience as a
mother and grandmother-is that lullabies are just
as important for the well-being of the person who
sings them. When we sing to a child, our blood
pressure normalizes, the " cuddle " hormone, oxytocin,
increases, and the " stress " hormone, cortisol,
"
11 GRAND Winter/Spring 2023
In our fast-paced, technologydriven
world, the singing of
lullabies-the original calming
tool-is disappearing from
bedtime routines...
"
decreases. Studies show that the brain waves and
heartbeats of the singer and the baby actually sync
up, confirming the feeling of connection.
Think you can't sing? That connection happens
no matter how you think you sound. Babies don't
understand language yet, so don't worry if you
forget the words to a lullaby-you can just make up
your own words. And if you can't remember any lullabies,
sing any song you already know, even a rock
song! Just slow it down, sing it with a soothing
attitude, and it becomes a lullaby.
Throughout time, lullabies have been the
record keepers of our personal, cultural, and
even political stories. They let us express-in
a quiet setting with a baby who will never tell
anyone-both the joys and challenges that we
all face in a lifetime.
In our fast-paced, technology-driven world,
the singing of lullabies-the original calming
tool-is disappearing from bedtime routines,
and as grandparents, we need to help keep
them alive.
We all have songs to share with our
grandchildren-maybe even songs that our parents
and grandparents sang to us. By singing to the children
in our lives, we bond with them physically and
emotionally and pass along our histories, which they
may well pass along to their children someday. To
sing lullabies is an instinct that we should recognize
and enjoy, for the benefit of everyone involved.
From the editor: In case you may feel a little
out of practice, here are 23 Best Lullabies to
Soothe Baby to Sleep from The Bump. It has
everything from classic melodies to modern
songs. They've rounded up the most beautiful
lullaby songs for kids of all ages, including
tried-and-true classics ( " Hush, Little Baby " )
and modern options too (Disney's " A Dream
Is a Wish Your Heart Makes " and The Beatles'.
" I Want to Hold Your Hand " ). Whether you're
looking for traditional lullabies, catchy melodies
with meaningful words, an Irish lullaby or a
French one, they've got them all here complete
with videos so you can teach yourself a few
beautiful lullaby songs you may not know yet.
Jane Roman Pitt is an award-winning
singer-songwriter and historian,
now collaborating with Carnegie
Hall's Lullaby Project on the book,
" The Lullaby Instinct: The Power of
Soothing Songs Generation After
Generation. "
https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine https://www.thebump.com/a/lullabies https://youtu.be/U0PI2djoA10 https://www.thebump.com/a/lullabies
GRAND Magazine - Winter 2023

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