Songs for kids
Top 50 songs for ages 2-5
Short songs with repeating lines, hand motions and slow enough lyrics for preschoolers to join in. It mixes preschool channel hits, traditional songs and gentle classics.
Compiled Oct 2026 from public chart history (Spotify and YouTube kids and family charts, Billboard Kid Digital Song Sales and Hot 100, Kidz Bop and soundtrack streaming through 2025/2026) and from the songs' release records. Order is an editor's ranking of lasting popularity with kids, not a single chart's numbers. Titles, artists and years should be spot-checked against the artist's page before use. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
Baby Shark Dance
Pinkfong · 2016 · Ages 1-6
The Korean-made video that became the most viewed on YouTube; short, repeating, and made for hand motions.
Watch for: Very repetitive; parents tend to tire of it before kids do.
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Wheels on the Bus
Cocomelon · 2018 · Ages 1-5
Cocomelon's animated take on the traditional song, with verses toddlers can act out.
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Yes Yes Vegetables
Cocomelon · 2018 · Ages 1-5
A call-and-response song that helps picky eaters say yes to vegetables.
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Bath Song
Cocomelon · 2018 · Ages 1-4
A sing-along to make washing up a routine instead of a fight.
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Johny Johny Yes Papa
Cocomelon · 2018 · Ages 1-4
A tiny question-and-answer game set to a nursery tune.
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BINGO
Cocomelon · 2018 · Ages 2-5
The spell-the-dog song with clap-in-place-of-a-letter, in a bright animated version.
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Bluey Theme
Joff Bush (Bluey) · 2018 · Ages 2-8
The short, bouncy opening of the Australian show that parents like as much as kids.
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Songs for Littles (Ms Rachel)
Ms Rachel · 2019 (channel start) · Ages 0-4
Speech-therapy-informed songs with slow pacing, signs and pauses so toddlers can join in; the channel's playlists are the place to start.
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Super Simple Songs playlist (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and more)
Super Simple · 2010s · Ages 1-6
Slow, clear classroom-style versions of traditional songs, widely used by early-years and ESL teachers.
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Fruit Salad
The Wiggles · 1991 · Ages 1-5
A fruit-and-motion song from one of the best-known kids' acts in the world.
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Hot Potato
The Wiggles · 1994 · Ages 1-5
A stomp-and-spin dance song for a living room.
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Baby Beluga
Raffi · 1980 · Ages 1-6
A gentle whale song that has put generations to sleep or to dance.
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Bananaphone
Raffi · 1994 · Ages 3-8
A silly, looping song that is as fun for adults as for children.
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Down by the Bay
Raffi · 1976 · Ages 2-7
A rhyming game where children make up the last line; good for early reading.
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Shake My Sillies Out
Raffi · 1977 · Ages 1-6
A stretch-and-wiggle song for the end of a long car ride.
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Everything Grows
Raffi · 1987 · Ages 1-6
A short growing-things song for tiny voices.
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Rubber Duckie
Ernie (Jim Henson), Sesame Street · 1970 · Ages 1-6
A bath-time classic that reached the US pop Top 20 in 1970.
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C Is for Cookie
Cookie Monster, Sesame Street · 1971 · Ages 2-7
Cookie Monster's song with a short, loud chorus and a lesson about 'sometimes foods'.
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Bein' Green
Kermit the Frog, Sesame Street · 1970 · Ages 4-12
A quiet song about feeling different and then accepting yourself.
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Rainbow Connection
Kermit the Frog (The Muppet Movie) · 1979 · Ages 3-13
A soft, hopeful song nominated for an Oscar; good for bedtime or for talking about dreams.
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Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) · 1968 · Ages 1-8
The slow welcoming theme that begins every episode; calm and kind.
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Pinball Number Count
The Pointer Sisters (Sesame Street) · 1977 · Ages 3-9
A funk song that counts to 12 with pinball sounds; a rare counting song with real groove.
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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Traditional (poem by Jane Taylor, 1806) · 1806 · Ages 0-6
The first song many children learn; the tune is an old French folk song.
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Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Traditional · 1917 · Ages 1-6
A farm and animal-sounds game with endless verses.
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Itsy Bitsy Spider
Traditional · 1910 · Ages 0-6
A hand-motion song with a rain-and-sun story.
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Traditional · 1852 · Ages 1-8
A round for two or more voices.
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If You're Happy and You Know It
Traditional · 1957 · Ages 1-6
A clap-stomp-shout song with easy verse swaps.
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Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Traditional · 1912 · Ages 1-6
A body-part touching song that can get faster and faster.
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The Hokey Pokey
Traditional (modern versions 1940s) · 1940s · Ages 1-8
A put-your-left-foot-in dance that is the classic party game.
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This Old Man
Traditional · 1900s · Ages 2-6
A counting-to-ten song with rhyming verses.
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The Ants Go Marching
Traditional (Civil War-era roots) · 1860s · Ages 2-7
A counting song with a rhyme for each number.
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Pop Goes the Weasel
Traditional · 1700s · Ages 1-6
A jack-in-the-box song with a pop on the last beat.
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Hush, Little Baby
Traditional · 1800s · Ages 0-5
A soft lullaby with a long list of promised gifts.
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Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Traditional · 1744 · Ages 1-5
A nursery tune sung to the same melody as Twinkle.
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The Alphabet Song (ABC Song)
Charles Bradlee · 1835 · Ages 1-6
The first song for learning letters; the tune matches Twinkle.
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Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Hot Dog Dance)
They Might Be Giants · 2006 · Ages 1-6
A cheerful, hand-motion theme.
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PAW Patrol Theme (Pups, Pups, Pups)
Scott Simons (PAW Patrol); written by Michael Smidi Smith and Scott Krippayne · 2013 · Ages 2-7
A short heroic theme.
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Blue's Clues Theme (Here We Are)
Nick Jr. · 1996 · Ages 1-6
A mailtime song with a question.
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Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Theme
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood · 2012 · Ages 1-6
A gentle theme in the style of Mister Rogers.
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Peppa Pig Theme
Peppa Pig · 2004 · Ages 1-5
A quick, jolly little theme.
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You've Got a Friend in Me
Randy Newman (Toy Story) · 1995 · Ages 2-13
A short warm friendship song, nominated for an Oscar.
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Hakuna Matata
Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver (The Lion King) · 1994 · Ages 3-12
A carefree phrase that kids use in real life.
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The Bare Necessities
Phil Harris and Bruce Reitherman (The Jungle Book) · 1967 · Ages 2-10
A relaxed, bouncy song about not worrying.
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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins) · 1964 · Ages 3-10
A made-up word song that children love to try to say.
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Let It Go
Idina Menzel (Frozen) · 2013 · Ages 3-12
The Oscar-winning power ballad from Frozen; most children know it by heart.
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Under the Sea
Samuel E. Wright (The Little Mermaid) · 1989 · Ages 3-12
A calypso number that won the 1990 Oscar for best original song.
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Three Little Birds
Bob Marley and the Wailers · 1977 · Ages 2-13
A reggae song with the line 'every little thing is gonna be all right'.
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Banana Pancakes
Jack Johnson · 2005 · Ages 2-13
Better Together
Jack Johnson · 2005 · Ages 2-13
A mellow guitar song about being together.
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You Are My Sunshine
Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell · 1939 · Ages 0-13
A gentle sing-along; the verses are sad but the chorus is simple.
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