› Is it weird to sing my kids lullabies? Maybe, but science is clear about the benefits

When my eldest daughter was just a few months old, I threw her in a carrier and took her on a train to visit my friend, the chorus of Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves looping in my head. I arrived, giddy and smug in the notion that my adorable new addition hadn’t disrupted my life one bit, placed her in the crib set up in my friend’s guestroom, put my hand on the doorknob – and that’s when she started to scream. Which she did for the entire night.

Twelve hours. Fourteen hours? Could have been 18. I lost count. I’d never seen her so furious. I’d never seen her so continuously awake.

Cradling her hot, red, squalling body in those first few minutes, my instinct was to sing her the lullaby that had become part of our bedtime ritual: Tender Shepherd, from Peter Pan.Tender shepherd,

Tender shepherd,

Let me help you count your sheep,

One in the meadow,

Two in the garden,

Three in the nursery fast asleep,

Fast asleep.

It did not have the intended effect.

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