To make a nursery rhyme video for a toddler, choose one short traditional rhyme, give each line its own calm, simple picture, and have the rhyme spoken clearly and slowly, ideally in your own voice. Say it through once at a gentle pace with the pictures, then a second time with a pause before each rhyming word so the child can fill it in. One to two minutes is plenty. Avoid fast cuts and busy backgrounds, which are the opposite of what small children need. Use the video as something you watch and say together, then put the screen away and do the actions, because the rhyme is the point and the video is only a way into it.

A spoken rhyme, not a music video

Be clear about what you are making. Many nursery rhyme channels are music videos: a recorded song, a backing track, bright animation timed to the beat. That needs music software and a singer.

A drawn, narrated video is a different thing, and for many rhymes a better one. Nursery rhymes were spoken and chanted long before most of them were set to the tunes we know, and a toddler learning language benefits from hearing the words clearly, at speaking pace, with each one easy to pick out. That is what this guide covers.

openCanviz makes narrated drawn videos. It does not compose music or produce singing. If you want the rhyme sung, sing it yourself and record it as the narration; that works, and your voice is what a small child most wants to hear anyway. Your recording sets each scene's timing, so the pictures follow you.

Which rhymes are free to use

The words of traditional nursery rhymes are in the public domain. Some popular ones and where they come from:

What is not free to use: a particular recording, a particular modern arrangement, a particular illustrated book's pictures, and extra verses a modern channel or publisher has added. If you have learned a version from a well-known channel, check that the words you are using are the traditional ones. When in doubt, use the version in an old printed collection.

Avoid rhymes built around licensed characters, and avoid the handful of old rhymes whose wording or imagery is now considered offensive. There are hundreds to choose from.

A worked example: Hickory Dickory Dock

The traditional rhyme is five lines:

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock.

That takes about ten seconds to say. A whole video is built around it like this, roughly ninety seconds altogether.

An opening line. "This is a tall, old clock. And this is a little mouse." Two sentences, two pictures. It introduces the only two characters before the rhyme starts, so the child knows who to watch.

The rhyme, once, slowly. One line per scene, about three seconds each, with a breath between lines.

A short bridge. "Shall we say it again? This time, you help."

The rhyme again, with gaps. "Hickory, dickory..." pause. "The mouse ran up the..." pause. The pause is where the child joins in. Leave a full second or two. It will feel long to you. It is not long for a two-year-old.

A counting extra, if your child likes counting. "The clock struck two, the mouse said boo." Many families make up extra verses like this, and so can you. Write your own; do not copy a channel's.

A closing picture. The mouse asleep at the foot of the clock. "Goodnight, little mouse."

Scenes

Reusing the same pictures the second time through is deliberate. Toddlers learn from repetition, and seeing the same picture with the same words is how they link the two. A new picture for the repeat would be a distraction.

Calm beats busy

Commercial nursery rhyme videos are often very fast: a new shot every second, saturated colours, constant movement. That is designed to hold attention, which is not the same as helping a child learn the words.

For a home-made video, aim for the opposite:

• One thing on screen per line. The mouse, the clock, the star. No crowded background.
• Three seconds or more per scene. A toddler needs time to find the thing being named.
• Soft, plain colours. Doodle on paper and cutout styles suit this well. Painted works for bedtime rhymes like Twinkle, Twinkle.
• The same character drawn the same way throughout. If the mouse changes colour between scenes, a small child may think it is a different mouse.
• No surprises. Humpty Dumpty falls, but he does not need to break dramatically. A gentle tumble is enough.

Go through every scene before you show it and redraw anything that looks frightening, cluttered or confusing at a toddler's eye level.

Screen time for the youngest

The guidance is clear and worth following. The World Health Organization recommends no screen time at all for babies under one, and no more than one hour a day for children aged two to four, with less being better. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding screen media other than video calls for children younger than 18 to 24 months, and, for older toddlers, choosing high-quality content and watching it with them.

So a nursery rhyme video is best for children of about two and up, watched with an adult, a couple of times, then switched off. Its real job is to teach you and your child the rhyme together, so you can say it in the bath, in the car, and on the stairs. A minute and a half on a screen that leads to a week of saying it aloud is a good trade.

Make it

1. 1

   Choose one traditional rhyme

   Short, four to eight lines, with a clear picture in each line. Check you are using the traditional words, not a channel's added verses.

2. 2

   Write the frame

   A two-sentence introduction to the characters, the rhyme once, a bridge line, the rhyme again with pauses before the rhyming words, and a closing line.

3. 3

   Paste it in and keep your wording

   In openCanviz, paste the script with Keep my wording so the rhyme is read exactly, and choose a soft style such as doodle on paper or cutout.

4. 4

   Record your own voice

   Say it, or sing it if you like, one scene at a time. Your recording sets each scene's timing, so you can leave the pauses exactly as long as you want.

5. 5

   Simplify every scene

   One thing on screen per line, the same character in every scene, nothing scary. Reuse the same picture for the same line the second time through.

6. 6

   Watch it together, then do it without the screen

   Play it twice with your child, then say the rhyme together with the actions, away from the screen.

A generated voice can read the rhyme, but it may not keep the bounce of the verse the way a person does. It is useful for a first draft. For the final version, your own voice is better on every count.

Common questions

Can I make the video sing the rhyme? Not with a generated voice. openCanviz narrates; it does not sing or add music. Record yourself singing it and use your recording as the narration for each scene.

How long should it be? One to two minutes for a two to three-year-old. The rhyme itself is often under fifteen seconds; the introduction and the repeat with pauses make up the rest.

Can I put several rhymes in one video? You can, but separate short videos are better. A child can ask for 'the mouse one' by name, and you can stop after one.

Can I make it in another language? Yes, with a rhyme from that language rather than a translation, since translated rhymes rarely rhyme. Many languages have their own traditional rhymes, and narration can be generated in languages including Hindi and Spanish, or recorded by a grandparent who knows them.

Is this useful for older children? From four or five, children enjoy making up their own verses. Write them down together and make a new video with their words. For a curious older child, try a short science video or a story for their birthday.