Songs for babies: lullabies and nursery rhymes to sing, from French to Darija

Two in the morning, and your baby won't go back to sleep. Without thinking, you hum the lullaby your mother used to sing to you, "Nini ya moumou", or "Au clair de la lune". Your baby calms down, eyes closing. Songs for babies are no small detail: singing is one of the three things Canadian paediatricians recommend doing every day, along with reading and talking.

Here is why singing matters so much, which song to choose for which moment, and a selection of classics in French, Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and Amazigh (Berber). One note: we describe these songs without reproducing their lyrics. The best versions are often those of your own family.

What happens when you sing to a baby?

Singing captures a baby's attention, and it may also support their first steps into language. In its 2021 "Read, Speak, Sing" position statement, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) brings together several findings:

• Attention. Changes in the pitch and tone of a voice, sung or spoken, hold an infant's attention.
• Language. Song, rhyme and rhythm may engage babies even more than speech alone. Lullabies and nursery rhymes rely on simple, repetitive structures that may support early language.
• The sounds of language. Pitch and rhythm are linked to phonological awareness, the ability to pick out the sounds in words, which will later help with learning to read.
• Confidence. Finger rhymes and clapping rhymes encourage creativity and self-assurance.

The CPS adds that singing and storytelling count just as much as books, especially in cultures with an oral tradition. Good news for families who have kept their grandmothers' songs.

Lullaby, nursery rhyme, finger play: which song for which moment?

Each moment of the day has its own music. This table helps you choose:

At bedtime, the lullaby fits naturally into the evening routine, along with washing and a story. Our tips for helping your baby fall asleep gently cover the rest of the routine.

Our French classics

These songs have travelled across generations, and some are more than two centuries old:

• Au clair de la lune. An anonymous song thought to date from the 18th century, published in 1843. It holds a special place in history: it is the song Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville recorded in 1860 with his phonautograph, the oldest known recording of a human voice.
• Frère Jacques. An 18th-century song, first printed in 1811, known in English as "Are You Sleeping, Brother John?". Long considered anonymous, it has been attributed by one musicologist to Jean-Philippe Rameau, a theory still debated. It is often sung as a four-part round, and exists in a great many languages.
• Alouette. A French-Canadian nursery song probably born in the 19th century, published in Montreal in 1879. Each verse repeats the previous ones while adding a part of the bird's body: good memory practice around age 3.
• Ainsi font, font, font. A children's song for the very young, sung with hand movements. Your baby watches first, then copies.
• Une souris verte. A short nursery rhyme, perfect during nappy changes.

Lullabies and nursery rhymes from Morocco: Darija, Arabic, Amazigh

"Nini ya moumou" is a Moroccan lullaby. It even appears among the lullabies of the world presented in a teaching resource from the Lyon education authority in France, alongside an anonymous Amazigh lullaby and an Egyptian lullaby.

The Amazigh repertoire is rich too. In 2016, the French publisher Didier Jeunesse devoted a book-and-CD to it, "Berceuses et comptines berbères", which brings together 27 lullabies, nursery rhymes, dances and traditional songs from Morocco and Algeria, in a bilingual Amazigh-French edition with a transcription in the Amazigh alphabet. It can be found in some libraries, and it is a lovely way to let a child hear Amazigh when their parents no longer speak it.

For Darija and Arabic, the best repertoire is often at home. Ask grandmothers, aunts and neighbours for the songs of their childhood: songs for playing, for bouncing baby on your knee, for sending them to sleep.

Is singing in several languages a good idea?

Yes. The CPS observes that music is often an easier way into a new language: a child dares to sing before daring to speak, and a familiar melody helps new words "go down". Still, a French or English nursery rhyme at nursery does not replace the songs from home.

The principle is the same as for speaking: sing first in the language you are comfortable with, the one that comes to you naturally at 2 in the morning. Our article on raising a bilingual child in Morocco explains how to keep several languages alive without worrying. To follow how their first words develop, see also language milestones from 0 to 3.

Musical toys, mobiles, night lights: are they useful?

Useful, yes; essential, no. A musical toy does not replace your voice, which responds to your baby, adapts to them and looks at them. But a jingling rattle, a sound ball or a small set of instruments add the pleasure of making sound yourself, and a musical mobile can help at bedtime.

A few tips for choosing:

• The age stated by the manufacturer, always, especially for small parts.
• A soft volume, adjustable if possible: test it at the height of your baby's ear before handing it over.
• Sounds your baby triggers themselves, rather than melodies that play on a loop.

Our baby activity toys section brings together rattles, balls and sets, and our toys by age guide helps you sort through them.

From the shop

Toys that make music

Your voice remains the most beautiful music for your baby. These toys complement it: a rattle or a ball that jingles, a set of instruments, a mobile or a musical night light for bedtime.

• −48 %ChiccoFruits musical suction-cup rattle, from 6 months – Chicco156 DHinstead of 300 DHView product
• −48 %ChiccoSoft Ball musical toy, 3 months-3 years – Chicco104 DHinstead of 200 DHView product
• −52 %Kids MelodyMusical balance game – Kids Melody169 DHinstead of 350 DHView product
• −50 %Kids MelodyBaby musical activity toy set – Kids Melody208 DHinstead of 420 DHView product
• −9 %Tiny LoveTake Along 3-in-1 portable musical mobile, Born to Party – Tiny Love328 DHinstead of 360 DHView product
• −48 %ChiccoFirst Dreams Petite Lune musical night light, pink – Chicco156 DHinstead of 300 DHView product
• The whole aisle · Music8 products online, delivered anywhere in Morocco.Open the aisle

Products sold by La Maison du Bébé, publisher of this magazine. Prices as of 12 October 2026; please check the product page.

After age 2, keep singing

Canadian paediatricians have noticed something: in families, singing declines quickly after age 2. That is a pity, because it keeps helping language. Sing-along picture books, for example, help preschoolers enrich their vocabulary and hear the sounds of language more clearly.

To keep the habit going:

• Let them choose the bath-time or car-journey song.
• Make up a song about their day, to the tune of a familiar nursery rhyme.
• Sing together: a round like Frère Jacques amuses brothers and sisters and involves the older child in the baby's songs, an idea you will also find in our advice on sibling jealousy.
• Combine books and songs: our ideas for reading stories to your baby work with sing-along books too.