Kids Connections to Music – How Early Does it Begin?

It’s a common action of a mother to pick up a baby and begin swaying her hips to soothe the child. The motion seems to tie into listening to music and moving with it. Often young babies and toddlers react to music. One can see this in the market of music for children and soothing babies. Another fun connection is live music classes designed for mothers and their young children.

My daughter and I tried our first music class together, a program called Music Together, when she was about six to eight months old. The program encouraged mixed ages of children, gave the parents a song book and a cassette tape or CD of the music they taught, and loved parent involvement. The children experimented with music instruments, danced and sang for about an hour each week. We loved the classes and had fun with the other families involved.

Later (at three years old or so) we were introduced to another music program called Kindermusik. Kindermusik is oriented more at having just the child explore music and instruments. Their programs taught various age appropriate instruments to the children and parents were only invited to join in some classes. Regardless of the approach for these music programs, the children loved being involved with the music making.

I’m convinced some of these young experiences have helped influence my daughter’s music preferences now at the age of eight. She’s ready for her own iPod playlists!

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Mommy and Me Week Recap

It was a little sad ending our special week together. Having tea was a very nice way to close the week though. We had a lovely, sugary-sweet meal of tea sandwiches, savories, and desserts while sipping tea or milk out of decorative, floral tea cups. Miranda really enjoyed sitting in a ultra girly room full of pink roses. I, on the other hand, was ready to jump out of my skin. Pink overload!!!!

While we waited for our elaborate plates of special treats to arrive, Miranda and I were having a little “end of the week” chat and discussing the week’s events. She was telling me how much fun it was to do things together and how she wished I didn’t have to work so we could always do things together. I was trying to hold in the tears that wanted to spill out, but I had to keep it together to say a few words. I explained to her that when the baby comes, it will be difficult for me to give her my full attention because the baby will need me a lot. I tried to assure her that I will do my best to spend time with her as much as possible. She was nodding her head, slurping her tea out of a spoon, and her eyes were glued to the kitchen waiting for the goodies to come out. Great! So much for our little heart-to-heart mother-daughter session. 🙂

I think spending this week together was very helpful for both of us. For Miranda, she is back on track. She is doing things on her own, listening and following directions, and the whining has stopped. My “old” Miranda is back! As for me, I learned that I can break away from work/my computer to spend time and delight in my daughter’s presence. The work will always be there but my precious time with my child can easily slip away if I don’t cherish it now. This week has been a good reminder of where my priorities lie. Family first!

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Baby No. 2 is Coming, and Mommy Feels Guilty

One of our "Mommy & Daughter" days: Flying a kite

One of our readers, Emmy, commented in a previous entry, “….as much as I was excited with my new addition to the family, I was overcome with a touch of sadness that my uninterrupted one-on-one time with my first-born daughter would come to an end.” I’ve heard similar stories from my mommy friends about how the closer they got to the end of their second pregnancy, the more guilt they felt. The thought of having to split their time with another child, or worse yet, spending almost all of their time with a newborn, has taken a toll on their emotions. I remember one of my friends, Kim, bursting into tears as she was telling me this. Back then, I thought she was just hormonal and overreacting. Now, I know EXACTLY how she felt!

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