Mothers sing Guns N' Roses instead of lullabies

Guns N' Roses: babysitting probably wasn't their forte.
Guns N' Roses: babysitting probably wasn't their forte.

A new survey has revealed that today's mums are more likely to sing songs by Guns N' Roses or Oasis than they are traditional lullabies when they're trying to get their little ones to nod off.

The babywebsite.com polled 2,000 mothers, and it turns out that the preferred night-time song is Take That's Patience (a commodity that can be in short supply at 3am). Former 'That member Robbie Williams is at number two on the list with Angels.

These are reasonably obvious choices, but we're not quite sure that Katy Perry's up-and-at-em I Kissed a Girl (in at three) is really a suitable substitute for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Similarly, neither Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine (10) or Dizzee Rascal's Dance Wiv Me (16) would be our first bedtime choices, but it's all in the performance, we suppose.

Oasis's Wonderwall is at number nine on the list, though Liam Gallagher might contend that his Little James might be a better sleep-inducing bet (it's certainly no good for anything else).

The top 20 is as follows:

1. Take That - Patience
2. Robbie Williams - Angels
3. Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
4. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
5. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender
6. Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
7. Duffy - Warwick Avenue
8. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
9. Oasis - Wonderwall
10. The Sugababes - Girls
11. That That - Back For Good
12. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
13. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do it for You
14. Adele - Chasing Pavements
15. Girls Aloud - I'll Stand By You
16. Dizzee Rascal - Dance Wiv Me
17. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
18. Westlife - Flying Without Wings
19. Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
20. The Spice Girls - Mama

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.