Cognitive development – Repetition of rhymes and stories is good for the brain, teaching how language works and improving memory, concentration, spatial intelligence and thinking skills. Because these verses are made up of patterns, they are easy first memorization pieces. Nursery rhymes are organised so that similar sounds jump out at you, which doesn’t happen in everyday speech. Nursery rhymes help your child’s brain segment words into syllables, hear similarities between words that rhyme or start with the same sounds.

Language and Literacy Skills – Nursery rhymes are important for language acquisition and help with speech development. They also help children develop auditory skills such as discriminating between sounds and developing the ear for the music of words. Listening comprehension is a foundational skill that is often skipped, but obviously necessary to learn. They are a great introduction to stories since many contain a beginning, middle, and end (sequencing). Nursery rhymes increase vocabulary (like the word “fetch” in Jack & Jill) and are a great, wonderful introduction to poetry. A rhyme’s repetition can also help your child become aware of the individual units of sound, known as phonemes, which make up words.

Maths – Nursery rhymes are a great way to start familiarising your child with numbers. They’re full of patterns, sequencing, numbers, and counting (forward and backward). For instance, you might ask your son or daughter questions like; “How many blind mice were there?” They also discuss size, weight and other important math vocabularies.

Physical – When actions are linked to words in the nursery rhyme, it helps boost motor skills and improves rhythm and movement. Music training (through playing and listening to music) before the age of seven has significant effect on parts of the brain related to planning and motor skills.

Social and emotional – Nursery rhymes develop humour. Because of the connection between movement, rhythm, and words, singing these songs can be a great group activity and is a great opportunity for children to get to know their peers. As children develop at different rates, using nursery rhymes will support children’s communication and language development at whatever stage they are at, for example, older children may be beginning to learn to rhyme, whereas younger children may still be at the stage of learning new words. Nursery rhymes are familiar and can thus provide comfort and support to youngsters in uncomfortable situations.