If you would like to contribute your favourite readings, please email them to hello@mybabycelebration.co.uk.

To help you find a suitable reading, they have been categorised as follows:

• Being Parents
• Being Grandparents
• Being a Child
• Traditional Blessings
• Advice on Life
• Religious Content

Advice on Life

IF.....

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Follow Your Dreams

When others say "It's hopeless and it really can't be done."
When they tell you "It's all over. It's a race that can't be won."
And they promise "You could spend your life just lying in the sun."
Follow your dreams boy. Follow your dreams!

When the people you admire, but who wouldn't understand,
Tell you "Other roads are safer. Your dreams are much too grand."
Or the doubters and the tempters try to take you by the hand.
Follow your dreams boy. Follow your dreams!

You should listen to the counsel of the people that you trust.
But don't be turned aside just because they might get fussed
You live the life that in your heart you know you really must.
Follow your dreams boy. Follow your dreams!

There is nothing you can't conquer if you believe you can.
No mountains you can't straddle, no oceans you can't span.
Just conjure up a vision and set yourself a plan.
Follow your dreams boy. Follow your dreams!

Jim Boswell

Wishing you many smiles and happy times to come
May life’s adventures be exciting and sweet
Filled with love from the friends that you’ll meet
You’ll soon grow up for time does fly
So cherish each moment as it goes by
From crawling and walking
To toddling and talking
There’s no knowing what you’ll do next
There’s a threshold to cross and a wide open door
And a wonderful world for you to explore
Sleep with the moonbeams and play in the sun
Let your life be a long one and filled with fun
May today and tomorrow and all days hereafter
Be days that are happy and filled with your laughter.

Anon

Lessons for Children to Learn

Do not be bored with childhood so that you rush to grow up – and then long to be a child again.
Do not lose your health to make money – you’ll lose your money to restore your health.
Do not think so anxiously about the future that you forget the present and end up living neither.
Do not live as though you will never die, or you will die as though you have never lived.

Learn that you cannot make someone love you, all you can do is let yourself be loved.
Learn that it is neither interesting nor helpful to compare yourself with others.
Learn to forgive by practising forgiveness.
Learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those whom we love and it can take many years to heal them.
Learn that there will be those that love you dearly but who have not learned how to express or show their feelings.
Learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it entirely differently.
Learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least to be happy.
Learn that it is not enough for you to forgive others, you must also forgive yourself.

Anon

I have seen a mother at a cot – so I know what love is;
I have looked into the eyes of a child – so I know what faith is;
I have seen a rainbow – so I know what beauty is;
I have felt the pounding of the sea – so I know what power is;
I have planted a tree – so I know what hope is;
I have heard a wild bird sing – so I know what freedom is;
I have seen a chrysalis burst into life – so I know what mystery is;
I have lost a friend – so I know what sorrow is;
I have seen a star-decked sky – so I know what infinity is;
I have seen and felt all these things – so I know what life is.

Anon

Be true to those who trust thee,
Be pure for those who care.
Be strong, for there is much to suffer,
Be brave, for there is much to dare.
Be a friend to all – the foe, the friendless.
Be giving and forget the gift.
Be humble, for thou knowest thy weakness.
And then, look up and laugh and love and live.

Anon

Let our children learn to be honest, both with themselves and with others. Honesty is the ability to distinguish between what is and what is not, and thus to deal effectively with reality. Let our children learn to love truth. When truth is present, there is no prejudice. By fidelity to truth the mind is nourished. Let our children discover their strengths and find courage. Let our children cultivate kindness, tolerance and acceptance of other people. These abilities do not come without cultivation. Let our children learn that they are like others, even people they do not like; and that there is good and bad in all of us. 

Adapted from E. Powell Davies

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,

Adapted from Forever Young by Bob Dylan

Your Name 

You got it from your Father
It was all he had to give
So it’s yours to cherish
As long as you may live
If you lose the watch he gave you
It can always be replaced
But a tarnish on your name, Son
Can never be erased.
It was clean the day you took it
And a worthy name to bear
When he got it from his father
There was no dishonour there
So make sure you guard it wisely
After all is said and done
You’ll be glad the name is spotless
When you give it to your Son

Adapted from Your Name ( You Got it From Your Father) by Edgar A. Guest

NB. These poems and readings have been collected from different sources.  Whilst every effort has been made to trace the author, please let us know the name of any not acknowledged.