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

[Meredith Pizzi]

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

[Carolyn Keenan]

My son is 16 months old, so the time that he was the age of Sprouting Melodies 1 babies is still very fresh in my mind! Of course I have been singing to him from the beginning and continue to do so. I can recall having thoughts of, “Is he enjoying this? Is he bored? What can he see when I sing this song/use these instruments?” I was very excited when he began to grasp a small maraca and hit a drum. Earlier in my career, I led a small mommy/baby music group on Saturday mornings for a short period. I wish I had known then what I know now from taking this training. I know that I provided bonding songs, movement songs, and opportunities to play instruments, but the wealth of information I am learning right now was not part of that experience.

[Alison Barrington]

thank you Carolyn for your comments. My boys are older (7 and 9) and it’s so easy to forget what they need and like at this very early stage! I also ran a group for preschoolers and their carers and, in hindsight, I realise that the bigger kids got a lot more attention than the little ones simply because they ‘demanded’ it. The poor babies were ‘add-ons’! So I am really grateful to now consider how important it is to divide the ages up.
One memory that has stuck in my head is when my oldest loved the sound of a toy penguin and he would move his head to watch and listen. Keeping the pace slow and steady and reflecting his joy enabled us to have a wonderful bonding experience which we both enjoyed. It’s something I want participants of Sprouting Melodies to also enjoy.

[Kimberly Rodgers-Melnick]

I have found, as Meredith and Beth mentioned, that when working with children in this age group I need to be aware of my affect, gestures, vocal tone, etc. I’m generally a gentle, warm person, but when I get excited or energized I can raise my voice or say things in a sharper tone (example– a few weeks ago a young child, older than 9 months but same concept, had a Star Wars shirt on in one of my classes and I excitedly said “ah man! I like your shirt buddy! while pointing to his shirt” he immediately got a concerned look on his face, turned away from me and ran back to his mom. oops!) I also liked their comments about the benefits of being in class even if a baby is sleeping, I had a mom in my last 10 week session who dealt with that, and while I encouraged her to come and told her it was okay I hadn’t thought of that situation from the perspective Beth and Meredith gave, so thank you for that!

[Claudia Eliaza]

This was a great video to watch because it helped me to look at areas that I hadn’t necessarily explored extensively before. For starters I am much more aware of my vocal tone, body language and importantly… AFFECT! A few years ago when working with a class, I would notice that as I was singing, some of the children would make some interesting face back at me. I decided to set up a recorder in the class and watch it. What I learned was astonishing. I make some very animated faces when I lead groups. I have always been a pretty expressive person, and my little ones were imitating the faces they saw me making. It was a great learning experience for me on many levels.

[Mabel Ortiz]

When I was a caregiver for infants at a preschool, I always sang a hello song that included their names. At first, babies listened and were very curious about it. As they grew older, they started to recognize their names in the song, and responded with smiles and giggles…

[Laura Pruett]

I don’t have much experience with babies 0-9 months old. I don’t have kids of my own, although I have nieces, nephews, and friends with kids. However, I haven’t spent much time with babies. When I have the occasional doula music therapy client, I’m there when the baby is born. I don’t interact with the babies very much, however, as I’m not there for very long once the baby is born (an hour or 2 at most, and then for another hour or two during the post partum visit within the first week), and when I am around, I encourage the parents to hold and interact with their baby. I just completed another CMTE about using MT in the perinatal period, and that CMTE as well as this one is reinforcing the need for gentle tone, affect, and transitions with this age group.

[Elana Dietz-Weinstein]

I love working with this age group because their growth and development is so amazing from week to week. You can really see the difference in how much they’re growing from one class to the next. I also have experienced that even if the babies are a little apprehensive in the beginning of the sessions, by the time a few sessions pass they are more comfortable and ready to engage in whatever way they are able to, whether moving, smiling, shaking, or anything else.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your submissions.

[Jen Hinton]

I had not had a lot of experience with babies 0-9months before becoming a Mom. I would not have considered myself a “kid person” – directing myself toward work with older adults diagnosed with dementia early on in school. Since having 2 children – now 5 and 2 1/2 I have been around a lot more babies simply because of my social circle. I have not done any professional work with children of this age. I know that as a Mom it was helpful to me to use music during this age especially. It feels like a good way to connect and communicate. Before being a Mom I would say I was afraid of babies crying 🙂 and even as a Mom it can bring on some anxiety. When I think about serving families with babies of this age, I think about serving the parents as this can be a rough time. In a time that can be very isolating and difficult for Moms/primary caregivers I think that this community and intervention would have been very supportive and reassuring. I look forward to providing something like this to our community.

[Anonymous]

Wonderful insights Jen. I think the uncomfortable and anxious feelings with crying is fairly common among parents and non-parents. I know I also had moments of anxiety when I heard crying. As you pointed out the parents need lots of support and validation! Being a parent, as you know, is a tough job and that on top of all the other responsibilities a parent has can be overwhelming. We also have a society focused on children being successful and developing well. I’ve found many of my parents were always worried about if their child was meeting their developmental milestones.

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