And 'Patience' by Take That is the tune most frequently belted out at bedtime by mums across the country.

The tune was the group's first release following their comeback in 2006. It reached number one in the UK charts and won the Best British Single Award at the BRITS in 2007. And two thirds of mums agree the boy band ballad is more likely to send baby off to sleep than lullabies such as Rock-a-Bye Baby and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Our poll of 2,000 mums revealed Take That have beaten old band member Robbie Williams to the top spot. The singer-songwriter's most successful song 'Angels' which was released in 1997 is the second most popular tune sung to babies at bedtime.

And third place goes to the rather odd choice 'I Kissed a Girl' by Kate Perry. Interestingly, more mums would rather sing the upbeat song than more relaxing classics such as Sleep Baby Sleep.

We were really surprised to find that mums would rather sing modern pop tunes than traditional lullabies. I expect most mums put the radio on when at home with baby in the daytime, and many of the catchy lyrics in today's charts make it impossible to sing anything else at bedtime.

A fifth of respondents claim their baby settles down better with a good pop song than with a nursery rhyme or lullaby,

Thirteen per cent of mums consider lullabies to be too old fashioned, and one in 10 mums admit they can't remember the words to any of them.

Nearly half of mums sing to their little ones to calm them when they are upset, and 33 per cent always lull their baby off to sleep with a song.

Another thirteen per cent of mums even get into the groove when changing nappies, singing to keep their baby still.

Other songs to appear in the top 20 list of bedtime tunes include 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt, 'Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley, 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera and Warwick Avenue by Duffy.

TOP BEDTIME TUNES

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

December 2008

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