Singing Off-Key for My Little Love

My daughter was born almost two weeks ago, and every day brings new joys along with the sleepless nights and constant diaper changes. It has also brought lots and lots of bad singing on my part.

Here's the thing: I am a terrible singer. While I enjoy karaoke, I can't carry a tune. So, I usually pick a song I can just "scream-sing" to, like "Shipping Up to Boston," or an easy rap song like "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.

That being said, I know music is good for babies. In addition to trying to expose her to a variety of music from her three countries (Greece, the Philippines, and the United States)—artists like Mikis Theodorakis, Marina Satti, Bini, Miles Davis, and SZA—I sing to her constantly. Sometimes I sing children's songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or pop songs like "Pink Pony Club." Other times, I make up nonsense songs like "Poop Machine" with lyrics such as "you are the poop machine, you are the poop machine, and Mom and Dad are going to keep you clean," which I sing whenever I change her diaper.

Despite my terrible singing and the silly lyrics of my nonsense songs, whenever my wife or I sing to her, she always seems attentive. (My wife, by the way, has a beautiful voice.) When I hold her close and sing, she opens her big eyes and seems to be studying my face and sounds intently until she falls asleep. Singing to her during diaper changes also seems to calm her down.

I know that around adults, my singing probably isn't going to be appreciated due to my general tone-deafness. But what my 16+ years singing songs to preschoolers, and now two weeks of being a dad, has shown me is that young children appreciate adults' effort to sing to them, even if our singing voice will never be compared to Mariah Carey.

So, if you are a parent or teacher of young children, just keep singing. I promise you the children will appreciate it. And if you're a bad singer like me, it might be the only time you have an audience entertained by your singing!