Nursery Rhymes with Actions for Babies: 12 Easy Ones to Start Today

1. Why actions make rhymes better

A rhyme on its own is something your baby hears. A rhyme with actions is something your baby watches, feels and, before long, joins in with. The movements give the words a shape: a spider climbing up your arm, a bus wheel turning, a twinkle of the fingers. That is why babies who cannot say a word yet will still giggle before the tickle arrives. They know what comes next.

Actions also give you a reason to slow down, look at your baby and repeat the same silly thing twenty times, because the reaction changes each time. Keep the rhymes short, keep the actions big and clear, and do the same ones over and over. Repetition is the whole point.

2. Lap and tickle rhymes (from birth)

These work from the newborn weeks onwards. Your baby lies on your lap while you do the actions on their body; the build-up and the pay-off are what they love.

Round and Round the Garden

Trace a slow circle on your baby's open palm with one finger for "round and round the garden, like a teddy bear". Walk two fingers up the arm for "one step, two step", then a gentle tickle under the chin or arm for "tickly under there". Pause before the tickle once your baby knows it is coming and watch the anticipation.

This Little Piggy

Wiggle each toe in turn, starting with the big toe, one for each little piggy. Finish by running your fingers up the leg and tummy for the last piggy who goes "wee wee wee all the way home".

Pat-a-Cake

Hold your baby's hands and clap them together gently to the beat. For "pat it and prick it and mark it with B", pat their palm, poke it softly and trace a letter on it, then point to your baby for "put it in the oven for baby and me".

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Sit your baby facing you on your lap, hold both hands and rock gently backwards and forwards. Make a surprised face for the crocodile verse. The full words are on our Row, Row, Row Your Boat lyrics page.

3. Hand and clapping rhymes (around 6 months on)

Once your baby can sit with support and is starting to reach and grab, hand rhymes come into their own. Do the actions yourself, slightly exaggerated, and let your baby copy when they are ready. Many babies watch for weeks before trying.

Open, Shut Them

Open your hands wide, close them into fists, open and shut again, then a little clap. For "creep them, creep them" walk your fingers up your baby's tummy to the chin, then quickly hide your hands behind your back for "but do not let them in".

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Hold your hands up and wiggle your fingers for the twinkling star, make a diamond shape with thumbs and index fingers for "like a diamond in the sky", and point up for "up above the world so high". This is also a lovely slow one for bedtime, and our Twinkle Twinkle lullaby video keeps the pace gentle. The words are on our Twinkle Twinkle lyrics page.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Touch the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other and "walk" them upwards for the spider climbing the water spout. Wiggle your fingers downwards for the rain, sweep your arms down and out for the spider being washed away, then make a big circle with your arms for the sun. Our Itsy Bitsy Spider lyrics page has the words and a simpler version of the actions for little hands.

If You're Happy and You Know It

Clap your hands, stamp your feet, shout "hooray" with arms in the air. Add your own verses: pat your head, touch your nose, blow a kiss.

4. Whole-body rhymes (once your baby is sitting and standing)

These are for the stage when your baby is pulling up, bouncing and wanting to be on the move, and they double as a way to use up some energy before lunch or a nap.

The Wheels on the Bus

Roll your fists around each other for the wheels, swing an arm for the wipers, push a flat hand forward for the horn and bounce for the people on the bus. Toddlers love adding passengers: a crying baby, a mum saying "shh", a barking dog.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Touch each body part as you sing it, then eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Start slowly, then sing it again a little faster, then faster still until you both fall over laughing. Our Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes lyrics page has the words laid out so you can keep up.

Five Little Monkeys

Hold up five fingers and bounce them on your other palm for the monkeys jumping on the bed. Tap the side of your head for "bumped his head", hold a pretend phone for "Mama called the doctor", and shake a finger sternly for "no more monkeys jumping on the bed". Put one finger down each verse; our Five Little Monkeys video shows the counting down with the animated monkeys, and the words are on our Five Little Monkeys lyrics page.

Peekaboo

The simplest action rhyme of all is also the one babies ask for most. Cover your face with your hands or a muslin, wait a beat, then reveal. Our own Peekaboo Song turns the game into a sing-along, and most babies soon start covering their own eyes.

5. Making up your own actions

The rhymes above are the traditional ones, but any song works with actions, including the Baby Learning World songs your toddler already asks for. Tiger Cub Dance is built around wiggling, stomping and roaring, and We Like to Play Outside is a dance song that only needs room to jump about.

A few guidelines for inventing actions:

• Match one clear movement to one key word. Too many actions in a line and your baby cannot follow any of them.
• Make the movement mean something: point up for "sky", wave for "bye", pat the tummy for "hungry".
• For the youngest babies, use their own body. Lifting their arms or wiggling their feet while you sing is an action rhyme too.
• Keep the last action the same every time. The ending is what your baby waits for.

6. Tips for singing with a wriggly baby

Not every baby wants to sit still for a rhyme, and that is fine. Some ideas that help:

• Sing during things you already do. Nappy changes, getting dressed and sitting in the pram are captive-audience moments. Pat-a-Cake was made for the change table.
• Face your baby, so they can see your hands and your face at the same time.
• Follow your baby's pace. If they want the tickle immediately, skip the build-up. If they want Peekaboo eight times in a row, do it eight times.
• Keep it to a minute or two. Three short rhymes, done often, beat a long sing-song once a week.
• On a day when your voice has run out, put on a sing-along video and do the actions together on the floor. You are still the one your baby is watching.

Questions parents ask