Song Gives Insight into My Toddler’s Mind

It’s been a while since my daughter was this little (she’ll be FIFTEEN later this year!!!), but I still remember the magic of those bedtime moments like it was yesterday – and also those hard, lengthy, and frustrating bedtime moments, of course. But this will be about the former rather than the latter.

Related: Literacy activities for toddlers.

Back in 2013, when my daughter was 2½ and just starting to talk more, we had a little song we’d sing every night in the dark—something simple, silly, and unexpectedly insightful. Looking back, I’m amazed at how much it revealed about what was going on in her busy little mind. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

E is 30 months old and bilingual, and while she has really started talking since she turned 2, she’s not as verbal as other kids her age seem to be.

When we go to bed, we always sing in the dark, and her favorite song these days is one we learned at a German baby club. It’s set to the melody of “Frère Jacques”, and at the baby club, it’s used to mention everyone’s name and say hi.

I’ve been singing it in English with E ever since we learned it, just using my own approximate translation (and making the melody work as needed 😉 ): “Where is X? Where is X? There he/she/it is (point), there he/she/it is (point). Hello X (wave), hello X (wave), and he/she/it’s gone (cover eyes), and he/she/it’s gone (cover eyes).”

At first, I just used names of people she knows, including Papa, Mama, Oma, Opa, herself, etc. After several months, she’d start announcing who the next verse should be about. At first, those were pretty straight-forward as well but recently, she’s really been surprising me with some of the things she comes up with. It’s no longer just the same people but also new people and things like trucks, police cars (a big favorite!), trains (ever since our big train ride to Oma’s and Opa’s and back), food, etc.

I feel that this song is really starting to give me more of an insight into her mind (beyond what she chatters about every day). Just tonight, we sang about K (my parents’ young neighbor) about five times in a row. My mom had gone over to introduce them but I hadn’t realized he’d made such a big impression.

After that, E came up with one of my mom’s friends who she met a few days ago and seemed to like but she hadn’t mentioned her at all since then. In fact, I didn’t know that E even knew her name until she asked to sing about her.

It’s funny how something as simple as a bedtime song can open a little window into your child’s world. Even now, so many years later, I treasure those tiny moments that gave me a glimpse of what she was thinking and feeling.

Do you have a special song, game, or routine that helps you connect with your child? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments! 🧡