When I think back to my daughter's first few years, I am almost immediately taken back to the quiet nights when I rocked her to sleep while singing her special lullaby.
10 Songs for Dancing with Kids Ages 0 - 6
Calming a Crying Baby (A Music Therapist's Method)
We had some weekend visitors stay at our house not too long ago and they brought their sweet 18-month old. He was sick, missed a nap and was overstimulated after a long day in the sun. Predictably, he had a rough time calming down for a nap. Before long, it escalated to him being completely inconsolable. Within minutes, he was fast asleep. The method I used is something I've used time and time again with music therapy clients and my own daughter.
Helping kids calm, WAKE UP or sleep with music
Imagine for a moment... it's Saturday morning. The house is dark and quiet and you've miraculously been able to sleep in until 9am.
(I'll let you stay in that dreamland for a moment.)
It's time to wake up. Music comes on and gently wakes you. It starts very quiet-- so quiet you can barely hear it-- and it gradually gets louder, coaxing you awake. It's music you love. What's your mood?
Now, imagine for a moment... the same scenario. It's Saturday morning in a dark, quiet house and you're blissfully able to sleep until 9am.
It's time to wake up. Then, as if there's a speaker right by your ear, IMMEDIATELY LOUD heavy metal music plays and shocks you out of bed. What's your mood now?
Music for an Overwhelmed Parent
I'd like to think that the first 6 months of my daughter's life were only blissful and carefree... uh, nope. It was HARD. She was a preemie with sensory issues that she (mostly) outgrew, but the sight of a ceiling fan could send her into an I-WILL-SCREAM-AND-NOTHING-WILL-CALM-ME meltdown that would simultaneously send me into my own special kind of meltdown.
It's no coincidence that I am so passionate about helping parents and educators find the right music that can help kids through life's (inevitable) challenges. Being a music therapist who worked with kids with sensory needs set me up to be the ideal parent for my own daughter. The process was FAR from perfect, but we learned a lot together.
Something I didn't expect??? Music helped ME in a miraculous kind of way.
10 Songs for Babies
Music is not one-size-fits-all and every child is going to react differently. In this list, you'll find music that could work for sleep/rest, music for play time, music for learning, etc. We could get really complicated here, but we're not going to! Plain and simple: these are my all-time favorite songs for babies.
