Childhood

Lullabies and play-songs are a pervasive part of human culture across the globe, and examples of these can also be found in early records of human history. Garrido and Davidson here consider historical examples of these specialized genres for children with some cross-cultural comparisons, before considering modern day examples of childhood music that continues to hold special significance for many people. They further consider how children’s music is perpetuated across multiple generations as parents sing to their children the music that their parents and grandparents sang to them. However, over time, social contexts and changing viewpoints about childhood are reflected in the evolving content found in typical children’s songs from different time periods.