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

[Julie Palmieri]

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

[Lydia Westle]

In my experience facilitating music therapy groups with this age level, I have found that children tend to be very curious and attentive (and sensitive) to the world / stimuli around them. Oftentimes, as soon as I start to sing, babies are gazing towards my guitar and / or the sound of their caregiver’s voice singing to them. In the medical setting, as I’ve mentioned a bit in some of my other posts, I find that caregivers often feel very overwhelmed with the many barriers they face in regards to bonding – whether it be not being able to hold their baby, extensive medical equipment and / or the many factors out of their control. For this reason, I’ve found that meaningful moments of connection during music therapy can feel particularly special, as it may be one of the only moments or experiences within the hospital that has allowed for these intimate moments, as well as moments of joy, in a way that hasn’t felt medical. Even in situations where a caregiver hasn’t been able to hold their baby, I’ve found that intentionally striving to give caregivers a role to have with their child in the music experience can help support those normalized moments for connectedness, as well as opportunities for empowerment with how caregivers can help their child to feel loved. For example, inviting a caregiver to stand at cribside and hold their baby’s hand may feel very intimidating in a setting such as a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. However, I’ve found that music therapy can really help invite caregivers into a space in a non-threatening way that feels tender and humanizing, such as swaying hands in a rocking fashion in the rhythm to the music or helping a child to explore a shaker for the first time. Caregivers have shared with me the ways in which having these meaningful moments to bond with their child has not only helped support their child’s development, but have also really helped an experience to feel less traumatic.

[Maura Nicholson]

I enjoyed reading about your experience in the Pediatric ICU. My brother and sister in law just had triplets and were in the special care unit for a couple weeks. I had the opportunity to visit the unit and I really felt like a music therapist would have been so beneficial. With the space being open, I was able to observe a few different sets of parents come in- some able to hold their newborns and others not. The intimidation of the fragility of some of these tiny humans was very apparent. The music can act as catalyst when holding and cuddling one’s baby isn’t an option.

[Courtney McDonald]

The extent of my experiences with the 0-9 month chronological age group is limited to my own son and my niece/nephews. I recall that many times each day was punctuated by extremes. Parenting is a constant up and down of energy levels, sleep deprivation, busyness, and balance of your role of self and caregiver. For me this was not echoed with my son. He was a baby of intense need for touch and attention. During this time, I felt very isolated and an overwhelming feeling that I was not doing enough to provide the best environment for my son. Although it was not a specific music group, a young child program at the local library was a wonderful place to observe others in similar situations, meet other parents, and have a time to focus solely on bonding without the outside pressures running a household.

I know that music therapy can create an even more effective space for new parents. We have the specialized knowledge to support a calm, safe space where bonding and attachment can flourish.

[Camryn Gallagher]

Currently the only parent/child music group my program offers is for children 18-36 months. Because of this, all of my experiences with children in the 0-9 month age range are through individual home visits as both a service coordinator and a music therapist. I recently had a child who aged out of our program, but I had developed such a strong relationship with the family that the mother requested I stay to provide services for her 3 month old (now 7 months) who had concerns for Torticollis, tightness, and sensory concerns. I was super overwhelmed by this at first since it’s not an area I’m very experienced in. So far our sessions have focused on bonding/relationship development between baby and mom. Mom is very comfortable with singing, so we’ve gone over several different songs including tickle songs, lap riding songs, and embedded songs. I also have been writing simple melodies to teach her older children to help remind them to have “Gentle hands” with the baby. Starting this course has definitely made me feel more confident in working with children in this age range and I have been adding them to my caseload more frequently!

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I enjoyed learning more about the work you are each doing.

[MacKenzie Lyons]

Most of my experiences with children ages 0 – 9 months have been in a Sprouting Melodies setting. I have been able to observe a wide range of developmental stages in a singular group. Over the summer in a Sprouting Melodies 1 & 2 class, there was a 4 month old and a 6 month old. I was able to see how developmentally different these two babies were, and really had to consider the variety of ways that a musical experience could be adapted. It has been really amazing for me to see how much a baby grows and develops in the first few months of their lives. I am at the point now where some of the 6 month old babies that I saw in July are now 9 months old in my current Sprouting Melodies classes. It brings a smile to my face being able to witness with my own eyes the progress that each child makes from week to week.

[Maura Nicholson]

In my work in EI, the youngest client I was assigned to was 6 months. She had already had multiple heart surgeries, hydrocephaly, and a trach. We did a lot of soft playing with the guitar while her parents held her. Some of her first larger responses to music occurred when we put bells on her ankles. I did a lot of stop and start with repetitive songs and eventually she would lift her foot to make a sound when the music stopped. I will never forget the joy of the parent in those moments!

[Amy Calderon]

Maura, that is so beautiful! It so so awesome when I a baby realizes they can “control us.” That realization of cause and effect is so cool.

[Kate Jihye Choi]

I haven’t had much experience with music groups of kids in the 0-9 month range. However, I have a couple of kids in the 0-9 month range for whom I provide one-on-one music therapy services. One is 4 months old and referred to me due to his torticollis. It was hard for the parent to encourage him to move his neck to help with the tension on his neck, and he gets frustrated whenever the parent moves his neck to the opposite side of his preference. I sat next to the parents while they were holding the baby on his lap and sang a good morning song softly. He turned his head to me and smiled. I let him have some rest and slightly extended the amount of time for him to turn his neck toward me. And I did other movement songs to help him move his head up/down and side to side. His parents reported that he tolerated it way better than he was in physical therapy. I’ve found that music can help children’s physical limits with more playful and joyful experiences. It was also practical for the parents to try with their child at home.

[Elmira Abasova]

I haven’t had much experience with such young babies either. The youngest babies I met were 6 months old – it happened during my training in RMTS. Those children were already crawling around and exploring the environment. I remember them interacting with their caregivers, showing a wide range of emotions, reaching toward the desired objects, and bubbling. My current youngest clients are 13+ months old and are more mobile and explorative at that age.

[Olivia Todd]

Outside of music therapy, I have a lot of experience with babies and toddlers. I have a large extended family with a lot of little cousins! I have watched each one of them grow into incredible little humans and it has been so fascinating to watch them develop. I also worked in a school during college breaks and between college and internship and gained a lot of experience through working in pre-k and a special ed pre-k classroom. In music therapy, I have not worked with children younger than three years old yet, but I am excited to begin in the NICU and to observe a sprouting melodies class! I have observed a few sessions in the NICU and was able to see the infants’ reactions to the music first hand. It was interesting to see the babies react when the MT I observed began the session. One baby was just about to begin feeding and was fussy and crying, the MT began humming and providing gentle containment and the baby began to calm.

[Daniel DeLucia]

The most experience I have had when working with this population has been my work doing music therapy in the NICU in addition to the observing one Sprouting Melodies class. The age range for those babies are typically anywhere from 28 – 37 weeks old. typically when working with babies in the NICU, I would often play lullabies to help promote development, maintain regulation, promote sound integration and instill infant-parent bonding.
When observing the Sprouting Melodies class, one observation that I picked up one was how Awareness for them is so critical as each experience for them is so new (such as picking up a scarf and throwing it up in the air). Furthermore, in order to facilitate awareness within the groupm the therapist had maintained a very exaggerated affect as well as very clear structure and cues.

[Amy Calderon]

My neice just turned 9 months and it has been so amazing see her develop and grow! I did a music class for her and her cousin and awareness was definitely where she started. Just getting quiet and staring whenever I sang. Now I hear her trying to imitate my mom when she hums a song for her to go to sleep. With the young babies I have worked with in PICU, I have observed how quiet they get when I sing and how they locate my voice with their eyes. They track small maracas as I move it around. It is so great to help parents feel comfortable to use their voice and sing to their baby. Watching that connection is so beautiful.

[Jessica Solimini]

As a mother and an aunt, I have a lot of experience with this age group! I think one of the most important things to note about children at this age is how very different they all are. While we know they are all progressing through the same stages of development, each child moves through those stages at their own pace and that’s normal! Watching their progress is so rewarding and fascinating. When I observed Billie’s Sprouting Melodies class when I first started at RMTS I remembered just how quickly the time really does go by.

[Erika (TeamRH)]

I enjoy reading about everyone’s experiences. Thank you each for your contributions.

[Mark Dunford]

I’ve never worked with 0 – 9 month olds but I have nieces and nephews. I noticed how their vocalizations and fidgeting would stop when I started singing to them and they would look up at me. They visually tracked the source of the noise and seemed to have some sustained focus on me. I noticed the same behavior when I would match their vocalizations.

They really paid attention to me when I would gently strum a guitar while singing/humming. Although they’re easily startled they’re also very curious and attentive especially to novel musical experiences.

[Billie Junget]

In my Sprouting Melodies classes in this level, it is so amazing to see how both baby and caregiver grow together throughout the weeks. You can really see them bonding and it’s a fun and safe way to engage in music with one another. Music was softer, a little slower, and calming. I like to think of the music and space as a deep breath. I minimize stimuli and use all one timbre of maracas and sometimes no guitar, just vocals supporting the shaking. Families at this level are sometimes new/first time parents and get the chance to connect not only with their baby, but a community of people having a similar experience, sometimes even hanging out outside of class. It makes a ripple!

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