180+ Most Inspiring Songs for Children
This blog post compiles a list of 180+ inspiring songs for children, offering a diverse selection of music that can motivate and uplift young listeners.
Being a parent is hard work, and most of the time it’s not easy. There will always be stressful moments and challenging times ahead, but things get so much better when you discover the world of music with your kids.
Music has an incredible power to inspire and heal, helping us through difficult times and brightening up our days.
To introduce your kids to the wonderful world of music and its many benefits, you need amazing songs that are fun to listen to while also teaching them important lessons about kindness, honesty, courage or any other virtue you want to instill in your child.
The secret is finding songs that they won’t get sick of listening to over and over again. If your child is loving a song over and over again, perhaps a pair of headphones for your little one is in order.
A great way to spend some quality time with your kids can be listening to music!
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The Benefits Of Music For Children
Music has a transformative power to improve mood and enhance wellbeing. Even just listening to a few minutes of music every day can improve your mood and decrease feelings of anxiety.
When kids regularly engage with music they’re building skills that last a lifetime. At the same time, they’re also improving their self-confidence, self-esteem, communication skills, and much more.
Music can help kids develop a healthy body and mind, with benefits for their well-being including stress reduction, improved sleep, and even stronger immune systems.
There are many ways in which music can play an important role in the lives of children.
Whether it be for enjoyment, education, or therapy, music is a valuable tool for bringing change and growth in children’s lives.
Inspiration Songs Kids Love
- “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
- “The Wheels on the Bus”
- “Let It Go” (from Frozen)
- “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (from Toy Story)
- “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
- “We’re Going to Be Friends” by The White Stripes
- “Over the Rainbow” (from The Wizard of Oz)
- “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong
- “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
- “A Whole New World” (from Aladdin)
- “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid)
- “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake
- “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars
- “Roar” by Katy Perry
- “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
- “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
- “Firework” by Katy Perry
- “How Far I’ll Go” (from Moana)
- “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves
- “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper
- “Bare Necessities” (from The Jungle Book)
- “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” (from The Lion King)
- “You Are My Sunshine” by Johnny Cash
- “This Little Light of Mine”
- “Do-Re-Mi” (from The Sound of Music)
- “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (from Mary Poppins)
- Puff the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary
- “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles
- “It’s a Small World” (Disney Theme Park Song)
- “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly
- “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers
- “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
- “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors
- “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
- “I’m a Believer” by The Monkees
- “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin
- “The Circle of Life” (from The Lion King)
- “Beautiful Day” by U2
- “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
- “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey
- “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
- “Hall of Fame” by The Script
- “Brave” by Sara Bareilles
- “Happy Together” by The Turtles
- “Imagine” by John Lennon
- “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys
- “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
- “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay
- “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay
- “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
- “ABC” by The Jackson 5
- “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas
- “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten
- “Waka Waka” (This Time for Africa) by Shakira
- “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson
- “Happy Birthday to You”
- “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”
- “B-I-N-G-O”
- “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
- “Five Little Ducks”
- “The Hokey Pokey”
- “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
- “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
- “London Bridge is Falling Down”
- “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
- “The Farmer in the Dell”
- “This Old Man”
- “Pop Goes the Weasel”
- “Skip to My Lou”
- “Hickory Dickory Dock”
- “Humpty Dumpty”
- “Jack and Jill”
- “Little Bo Peep”
- “Old King Cole”
- “Peter Piper”
- “Three Blind Mice”
- “Yankee Doodle”
- “Baa Baa Black Sheep”
- “The Muffin Man”
- “Pat-a-Cake”
- “Ring a Ring o’ Roses”
- “Simple Simon”
- “The Alphabet Song”
- “Oh! Susanna”
- “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”
- “Sweet Betsy from Pike”
- “Turkey in the Straw”
- “America the Beautiful”
- “Anchors Aweigh”
- “The Star-Spangled Banner”
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
- “Yankee Doodle Boy”
- “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
- “Camptown Races”
- “Clementine”
- “Home on the Range”
- “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
- “Oh My Darling, Clementine”
- “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
- “Buffalo Gals”
- “Down by the Riverside”
- “Good Night, Ladies”
- “Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here”
- “In the Good Old Summertime”
- “John Brown’s Body”
- “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
- “Oh, Susanna”
- “Swanee River”
- “Auld Lang Syne”
- “Danny Boy”
- “Greensleeves”
- “Loch Lomond”
- “Scarborough Fair”
- “The Blue Bells of Scotland”
- “The Irish Rover”
- “The Minstrel Boy”
- “The Parting Glass”
- “The Rising of the Moon”
- “The Unicorn Song”
- “Whiskey in the Jar”
- “Wild Rover”
- “Amazing Grace”
- “Ave Maria”
- “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
- “Dona Nobis Pacem”
- “Down by the Sally Gardens”
- “Kumbaya”
- “Morning Has Broken”
- “Nearer, My God, to Thee”
- “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”
- “The Lord’s Prayer”
- “Wade in the Water”
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
- “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles
- “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
- “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson
- “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang
- “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and the Vandellas
- “Dream On” by Aerosmith
- “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller Band
- “Good Life” by OneRepublic
- “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson
- “Hero” by Mariah Carey
- “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles
- “Lean on Me” by Club Nouveau
- “Let’s Get Together” by The Youngbloods
- “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson
- “One Love” by Bob Marley
- “Respect” by Aretha Franklin
- “Somewhere” (from West Side Story)
- “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King
- “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick
- “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News
- “We Are the World” by USA for Africa
- “We Will Rock You” by Queen
- “What the World Needs Now is Love” by Jackie DeShannon
- “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
- “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” (from Song of the South)
- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen
- “Dancing Queen” by ABBA
- “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen
- “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins
- “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
- “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston
- “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
- “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond
- “Take on Me” by a-ha
- “The Time Warp” (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
- “YMCA” by Village People
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
- “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John
- “Don’t Worry About a Thing” by Bob Marley
- “I Feel Good” by James Brown
- “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
- “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls
- “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
- “Material Girl” by Madonna
- “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
- “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
- “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John
- “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel
- “Wannabe” by Spice Girls
These songs offer positive messages of hope, perseverance, self-confidence, and the power of community. They can inspire and uplift children, encouraging them to dream big and pursue their goals with passion and determination.
YouTube Playlists With Inspirational Songs For Kids
See also: 20 Apps That Don’t Require Wifi For Kids Under 5
Streaming Services You Can Use
Listening to music with our kids can be a fun and enjoyable experience for the whole family. It can also be a great way to introduce them to different genres of music and expose them to positive and uplifting messages. There are many music platforms available that make it easy to access a wide variety of music.
One popular option is streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. These platforms offer a vast library of songs, playlists, and podcasts. You can create custom playlists for your kids and even listen to them together as a family.
Another option is Amazon Music, which also offers a large selection of songs, playlists, and podcasts. It also has the added benefit of being easily accessible on Amazon devices like Echo Dot, Echo Show, and Fire TV.
All these platforms offer a free trial period and also provide subscription based services that give you access to ad-free music, offline listening and more. These subscription based services can be a great way to support the artists and creators of the music you and your family enjoy.
Music That Kids Should Avoid
As a parent, you want to give your child the best start in life. That starts with eating right, getting a good night’s sleep and listening to music that fits their age and development level.
You should of course make the best decisions about the right type of music for your family and you may not agree with me, but in my mommy opinion here are the types of music styles that kids should not hear.
One of the most dangerous forms of music for children is heavy metal.
This type of music is loud and high-energy, which makes it perfect for young ears to hear. But even more dangerous than metal music is rap music, which often has violent and sexual themes.
Both of these types of music should be avoided at all cost by parents because they can cause lasting damage to a child’s brain development. Another type of music that should be avoided is electronic dance music (EDM).
This is the kind of music that you would hear at raves or nightclubs, and it usually has very loud, repetitive beats or bass lines.
Because this type of music can cause hearing loss as well as seizures in some people, it should also be avoided by anyone with an infant or young child nearby.
Music Can Help Bring Out Feelings We Didn’t Know We Had
We all have feelings buried deep inside our hearts. Sometimes they surface out of nowhere, while at other times they remain hidden deep within our souls.
Music can help you access those feelings and express them in a healthy way. When you listen to music, the brain releases chemicals called endorphins, which help us process those emotions and bring them to the surface.
Once these feelings are out in the open you can start to understand where they come from, and how to deal with them. This can help you to become a stronger and more confident person.
Inspirational Songs For Kids Bottom Line
Introducing your kids to the wonderful world of music is an amazing gift. It can help them improve their social skills, develop healthier bodies, and discover their hidden talents.
With so many wonderful benefits, music is a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Make sure to choose some amazing songs that are fun to listen to while also teaching your kids important lessons about kindness, honesty, and any other virtue you want to instill in your child.
Resources
- Music Training and Academic Development: A study found that children with long-term music training showed better performance in second language development, although music training did not independently contribute to the development of first language or mathematical skills (Yang et al., 2014).
- Brain and Cognitive Development through Music: Music training can induce brain and behavioral changes in children, improving musically relevant auditory skills and related brain changes. These effects are not attributable to pre-existing biological traits (Habibi et al., 2018).
- Music and Alpha Brainwaves: Music can develop children’s brains by affecting brain chemicals and enhancing learning. Musical intelligence is considered a vital aspect of human intelligence (Pumin, 2017).
- Kodály Methodology in Music Education: Music education using Kodaly methodology can benefit children in literacy and numeracy skills, spatial-temporal reasoning, intelligence, and social-emotional development (Goopy, 2013).
- Music and Early Years Education: Music supports a wide range of psychological, social, and physical behaviors and development in young children, although many early years educators lack the professional knowledge to maximize these benefits (Welch, 2020).
- Rhythm, Reward, and Cognitive Development: Musical training has benefits beyond the skills it directly aims to train and can predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood. Its effects on cognitive development depend on the timing of musical initiation and other variables like motivation and social context (Miendlarzewska & Trost, 2014).
- Music and Literacy Development in Young Learners: Music can enhance literacy instruction, with activities like singing songs improving language skill development, reading fluency, and writing progress (Paquette & Rieg, 2008).
- Music and Social Skills: Music can be a valuable tool in developing social skills in children, particularly those with disabilities. It provides opportunities for children to interact musically with peers and adults, fostering social competency (Mcferran & Thompson, 1998).
- Music and Auditory Working Memory: Music training may benefit the central executive system of working memory, as indicated by improved performance in tasks measuring auditory working memory (Nie et al., 2022).
- Music and Handicapped Children: Music can promote intellectual, emotional, and social development in handicapped children, sometimes revealing hidden musical talents that can aid overall progress (Ricketts, 1976).