'Babies would choose Mum or Dad over Pavarotti': Why we should sing to our children

Songs for relaxing babies, activity songs for toddlers, and songs for when you're doing the chores... these are the real musical hits according to the experts

Elizabeth McCashin singing with her children, Laoise, 4, Cian, 6, and Tomás, 15 months. Picture: Moya Nolan

Elizabeth McCashin, a Raheny-based mum-of-three, sings different songs to each of her children. Her go-to song with six-year-old Cian is ‘Rainbow Connection’ from The Muppets. “It’s a lovely lullaby,” says the primary schoolteacher who’s currently on work leave.

With four-year-old Laoise, she sings songs from Frozen. “She was born just after Frozen II came out, and there’s a lullaby sung by the mother character — ‘All Is Found’ which I love.” And with her youngest, Tomás, 15 months, Elizabeth loves to sing much more active songs, like ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ and ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’.