Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Tori Clark]

I haven’t worked with many children in the 0-9 month range, but I can share experiences from my own children. My children seemed very observant. Lots of watching and listening and brow-furrowing, which seems to us adults as being rather passive, but I can only imagine all the neural pathways that are developing in those brains! They very, very much wanted to be held ALL the time! Which is exhausting. But I think one major advantage we as music therapists can offer is giving parents the tools (i.e., music) to make that time spent holding their babies more meaningful for both parent and child. Because this stage actually passes very, very quickly. I echo what Meredith emphasized–that parents are very tired and often feel like they can’t “get it together”. (Come to think of it, I still feel this way!) So affirming parents during classes and treating them with warmth goes a very long way in what can be a challenging–albeit joyful–season of parenthood.

[Victoria Fansler]

I just started working with a little one in the latter end of this age group. She is in a daycare setting and has had a difficult time adjusting. I have been asked to come support by either helping to soothe her if she is upset or helping facilitate bonding activities between her and the daycare teacher if she is feeling alright.

Our first session was this week, and I was so thankful to have this knowledge going into the session. The combination of sedative and playful feelings in the bonding songs had such a clear impact. She recognized me as a new person and showed some immediate affect shifts toward concern; however, the rocking and soft feel of our first bonding song set her at ease. The play-song portion went over well initially, but she showed some signs of alarm before the iteration was over, so we cut it short and returned to a longer round of the soft portion. In our third or fourth round coming into the soft section, I saw such a beautiful shift in her; her eyes softened in a way that showed a visible shift in her sense of safety and comfort in that environment. It was truly moving to see that response.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed learning about your experiences.

[Debrah Evans]

I am not yet a parent, and have had no clinical experience with this age group yet. In my experience with children this age though (from family members), I notice how fast they grow and change from one time to the next just as the video mentioned (and Tori mentioned too). When they are in their first few months I seem to remember them sleeping a lot, and remember a lot of the startle reflex occur with loud noises or changes in the visual environment. Children around the 6 month age are fun to interact and play with because they enjoy simple play of hiding (Peek a Boo) and start to mirror changing facial expressions.

[Anonymous]

Although being a parent gives you some unique perspectives on early childhood, the skills and training as a music therapist fully prepares you to work with this age group and their families. You will find the parents and adults will appreciate your skills and expertise.

[Courtney Kjaldgaard]

The youngest child that I’ve worked with is 6 months, but I have a niece and I’ve got to observe how she responds to her environment between the ages of 0-6 months. Higher pitched sounds and vocal sound effects (such as buzzing, vibrating the lips, clucking the tongue, etc.) are extremely intriguing and motivated her to vocalize. My niece was extremely relaxed and easygoing and it was very easy to get her attention with music of any kind. She was especially receptive to singing by her Mom, Grandma and me (female voices – higher pitched naturally). Growth is so rapid during this stage and her ability to vocalize and move in response to music increased within a short period of time. At 9 months, she was bouncing more and shaking her head side to side to upbeat music. She produced more varied vocalizations – short, high-pitched tones and sound effects using her tongue and lips.

[Joanne Van Eycke]

I haven’t had any clinical experience with this age group yet, but have participated in community music groups with my son since he was 3 months old. What I found most interesting was how much changes between 0-9 months. I remember starting the class he just snuggled in to me and mostly just listened to me sing. By nine months he turned towards and away from different sounds, experimenting with different instruments and expressed joy (and displeasure, depending on his nap or teething!). My main take away from this as a therapist is to remember how changeable babies are at this age and to be flexible.

[Megan Neil]

I haven’t had much experience with kids in the 0-9 month range clinically or personally. However I do have a few parents in my groups at the early intervention center where the child receiving early intervention comes with Mom/Dad and their tiny sibling. It’s interesting in my group setting because I am tailoring the experiences to the older children and not necessarily the older siblings however I am aware of the younger siblings and trying to engage them appropriately as well. I have one Mom that comes with her son and young daughter. Initially in group she was leaving the baby girl in the car seat throughout the session. Now I have been encouraging her to hold her daughter and engage with her as well as her son or to let another provider in the group hold her daughter next to her so that she can engage more within the group then when she was in the car seat. I notice that this girl fluctuates between being attentive and watching people and things in the room and sleeping. Both are okay as mentioned in the training and very developmentally appropriate.

[Janet Buchanan]

Like many of the others here, I have had little to no experience with children of this age level. However, I have seen a little from observing my own little cousins, younger siblings of students, or babies of my friends. Much of the time, they seem to be sleeping. Some of the other times they are startled or have that “baby bewildered” look on their face. I’ve always really enjoyed watching the ones who are a little older react to the environment–they start looking around and being more aware of the people around them. It’s especially fun to start making faces at them because they’re beginning to react and might smile or mirror your expressions!

[Peggy Grace]

When I was attending college, one of my practicums was at the local hospital working with premature infants in the NICU. We did a multi-modal technique paired with humming to help reduce their anxiety and study if the music was effective in supporting their development. You could usually see how their affect relaxed.

One of the most memorable pt.’s of this age range that I worked with was born with multiple health needs, mostly heart and respiratory issues. I began with soft humming followed by singing then paired with guitar accompaniment. Her 02 saturation rate always increased while her heart rate went down. Her care giver also noted how she responded to the music and that it was beneficial with increasing her comfort level.

Some of the young patients that I have worked with have siblings close to the same age. They usually will start to smile, move and I usually include them in the sessions. If there is one thing I have learned when working with children 0-9, they respond to music within their functional limits.

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