Music For Kiddos Podcast
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What if instead of asking “brush your teeth!”, “clean your room”, or “go to bed”, we could use music to engage children and use it as a cue for the things we are asking them to do?
Music can be part of our routines and transitions like when washing our hands or before going to sleep. Not only that, but music can also help us connect with children, share a piece of joy together, and preserve our relationship with them.
I met with music therapist Amanda Maestro-Scherer, MT-BC who talked about ways we can use music at home. Amanda is someone I have admired for a very long time. She’s an incredible music therapist who finished her training at Berklee, just like I did. She’s worked with a huge range of populations like hospice, pediatric palliative care, children’s hospital and a school for children with disabilities. She currently works in her private practice in upstate New York.
When can we use music at home? All the time! Music can be integrated into daily life activities; it can serve as a reassuring tool to help kids with meltdowns or it can help kids self-soothe when facing sleep struggles. Often, using a song during what can be cumbersome activities for children like brushing their teeth or getting into the bath, can really make a difference.
Music can be a timer, provide structure, or serve as a cue or prompt before moving into doing something different.
Amanda shared “I always encourage parents to sing as much as they can to their kids, but if they don't feel comfortable singing, finding a recording and using that recording consistently… is so important using music that the kid will become familiar with.”
Listen to episode 16 of the Music For Kiddos Podcast for more tips by Amanda Maestro-Scherer on how to use music at home and making it part of a child’s routine.
FREE RESOURCE: “Ways To Use Music At Home” guide
Amanda shares a free PDF guide that outlines a few of these different strategies that can be shared with parents who are looking for ways to incorporate more music into their day to day with their child. These strategies are what Amanda calls “parenting hacks, using music.”
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