Learning Songs for Toddlers: The Best Songs for 1, 2 and 3-Year-Olds
By David Choi · Updated September 29, 2026
Toddlers learn from songs because songs repeat. The same words, the same tune and the same actions come back again and again, and that is exactly how a young child learns new words. A good learning song for toddlers is short, catchy and teaches one thing at a time.
Here are our learning songs for toddlers, sorted by age. Ages are only a guide: every child is different, and older toddlers still love the songs for babies.
Why toddlers learn so well from songs
Music supports language in many ways. Rhymes and repeated lines help children hear the small sounds inside words, and toddlers understand many words long before they can say them. Singing a song together also gives them a reason to try saying those words out loud. The early childhood experts at ZERO TO THREE point out that hearing the same song at the same time each day helps young children link that music with an experience.
Learning songs for 1-year-olds
One-year-olds learn through play, sounds and simple back-and-forth games. By around 18 months, many toddlers try to say three or more words besides “mama” or “dada,” and follow simple one-step directions. Songs with a game or a sound to copy are perfect at this age.
Peekaboo Song
“Peekaboo, where are you?” The classic hiding game as a song. Cover your eyes, then find your child on “There you are! I found you!” Babies and young toddlers laugh at every reveal.
Animal Sounds Song
“What sound does a dog make? Ruff ruff ruff!” Sixteen animals, from cows and cats to whales and lions. Animal sounds are often among a toddler’s first “words,” and they are easy to copy.
Learning songs for 2-year-olds: body parts, colors and counting
Two is a big year for words. By age 2, most children can point to at least two body parts when you ask and say two words together, like “more milk.” Songs that name things they can see and touch fit this age well.
Face Song
Eyes, eyebrows, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, chin and cheeks. In the second half the song asks “Where are your eyes?” so your toddler can point to each one, a body parts song and a game in one.
The Color Song
Nine colors, sung twice: red, green, blue, purple, white, yellow, black, orange and brown. A color song for toddlers that says the colors are all around us, in the sky, our clothes and our toys.
1-10 Song: Learn to Count
Counting from one to ten, three times, a little faster each round. Toddlers often learn to recite the numbers first and understand what they mean later, and both start with songs like this.
Learning songs for 3-year-olds: shapes and the ABCs
Three-year-olds talk in back-and-forth conversations and ask lots of “what” and “why” questions. Many can draw a circle when you show them how. They are ready for songs that explain a little more.
Song About Shapes
Circles, rectangles, triangles and squares, each with everyday examples (buttons, doors, sailboats, sandwiches) and a simple rule, like “It has three sides, it’s pointy, it’s a triangle!”
ABC Song
The alphabet in three parts: A to P, then Q to Z, then the whole thing together, with lots of encouragement along the way. Breaking it up makes the ABCs much easier to learn.
How to get more learning out of every song
- Pause before the last word. Sing “Twinkle twinkle little…” and wait. Filling in the word is how toddlers start to sing.
- Point and touch. Point to your nose in the Face Song, hold up fingers in the counting song.
- Take it off the screen. After the song, go on a color hunt or a shape hunt around the house.
- Stay with one song for a week. Repetition is the point. Toddlers enjoy a song more, not less, once they know it.
- Sing it yourself. Every song page has the full lyrics. Your voice in the car or the bath teaches as much as the video.
One song, many times beats many songs, once. If your toddler asks for the same song again, that is learning in action.
What about screen time?
The World Health Organization advises no screen time for 1-year-olds, and no more than one hour a day for 2 to 4-year-olds (less is better). You can still use our songs: listen to them as audio, watch a video together and then sing it without the screen, or learn the words from the lyrics on each song page.
Want to use these songs to teach English? See our guide to teaching your child English with songs, or add them to a daily routine with our circle time songs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best learning songs for toddlers?
The best learning songs for toddlers are short, repeat the same words many times and teach one thing at a time, such as animal sounds, body parts, colors, numbers, shapes or the ABCs. Songs with actions to copy, like pointing to body parts, work especially well.
What songs are good for 2-year-olds?
Two-year-olds enjoy songs that name things they can see and touch: body parts songs like our “Face Song,” color songs, simple counting songs and animal sounds songs. Short songs with actions keep them joining in.
How do I teach my toddler colors with songs?
Play a color song a few times over a week, then use it in real life: point to a red toy and sing the word, go on a color hunt, or sort toys by color. Hearing the word in the song and then seeing the color around them is what makes it stick.
How many times should my toddler hear a song?
Many times. Toddlers learn through repetition, and most need to hear a song over several days before they start joining in. Staying with the same song for about a week before adding a new one works well.
Are learning videos good for toddlers?
Videos can introduce a song, but toddlers learn most when an adult sings, talks and plays along with them. The World Health Organization advises no screen time for 1-year-olds and no more than one hour a day for 2 to 4-year-olds, so use songs as audio too, and sing them yourself.
Sources
- Beyond Twinkle, Twinkle: Using Music with Infants and Toddlers, ZERO TO THREE
- Milestones by 18 Months, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Milestones by 2 Years, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Milestones by 3 Years, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more, World Health Organization (2019)
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