It turns out that I am a novice when it comes to nursery rhymes. I’m not all that knowledgeable of fairy tales either. It wasn’t until I found myself rocking my new baby and attempting to sing and tell her stories that I realized I lack this essential parenting skill.
The ability to sing the correct lyrics to “Pat a Cake” is not a resume-building skill in most professions. In fact, humming such songs in your cubicle is usually frowned upon in the workplace.
And as for fairy tales, I’ve spent my adult life shunning the idea that all women are princesses in disguise just waiting for a handsome prince to make life worth living, so I didn’t brush up on my knowledge of far-away lands prior to bringing home my baby girl.
I assumed that I possessed this knowledge - that the tunes and stories of my childhood were laying dormant in my brain just waiting to be called out of the bullpen.
I was wrong and have resorted to going with what I know.
To my surprise, the story of a boy called upon save the galaxy from the dark Lord Vader just rolls off the tongue. And somewhere along the way I picked up most of the lyrics to “Me and Bobby McGee.” The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears has also become an afternoon staple, although my husband tells me that the bears do not eat Goldilocks at the end (but that just doesn’t make sense).
But I do want to broaden my repertoire and encourage imagination, so I have started reading fairy tales to Sophia while she is sitting in her bouncy chair or propped up in her Boppy pillow. She still has a hard time focusing on pictures in books, but I think she enjoys my voice and our time together. Of course, she falls asleep soon after the stories begin.
And as for singing, I looked up nursery rhymes online and am working to integrate them into Sophie’s feeding times. I think she is getting tired of my bad Janis Joplin impression and could use a few fun songs that she can eventually sing on her own.
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