Music is a wonderful addition to your baby’s life from the earliest days.

Hearing is one of the first senses to develop in the womb, and by birth a baby’s hearing is fully functioning. This means hearing our voices is key to strengthening connection with newborn babies.

A key area of music research is how our brains process speech and music at this early age, and we have discovered the brain actually treats speech like music, with newborns focusing on features of pitch, rhythm and speed.

There is a huge variety of musical material you can engage with together so there will definitely be songs to suit everyone. Yes – even if the last time you listened to kids’ music was several decades ago. And even if you listen to it now and think “I don’t think I can sit through this for the next couple of years!”.

Here’s what to think about when creating a playlist for baby – and for you.

There’s a universal human instinct to soothe our babies through the safety of the repetitive rhythms, calming melodies and steady pulse of lullabies. Singing lullabies to my babies certainly saved my........

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