Share Your Thoughts

[Meredith Pizzi]

Share some thoughts about the challenges of providing multi-age groupings.

[Victoria Fansler]

There are so many challenges in raising differently-aged children in the same home, and these challenges are mirrored in leading sessions for mixed-age groups. I think one of the most difficult and yet most meaningful challenges is that it forces children — especially older children — to develop empathy very quickly. They have to accommodate for babies’ needs, and it can be very difficult for them to understand why baby can’t make those accommodations for them instead. However, although this dynamic may create stress in some ways, it is pivotal in helping children grow into the caring human beings we hope for all of them to become. Music sessions can be a sacred space for families who feel they have to constantly negotiate about activities; by facilitating experiences in which all children can participate in their own unique ways, the struggle is mitigated and the love between siblings can show through more.

Thinking along these lines, I appreciated what you mentioned about how the sessions can easily become oriented more toward the older children simply because they are good at self-advocating. I like the idea of building in an intentional time for calm, soothing music with the youngest group members in mind, particularly toward the end of the session. This redirects some love and attention toward the babies, and it will also help the older ones regulate after getting excited and aroused.

[Anonymous]

Wonderful insights Victoria. Another great way to include the older children in being helpers. Many times this empowers the these children and encourages them to be active helpers with their family.

[Courtney Kjaldgaard]

I think one of the main challenges of providing multi-aged groupings is making sure that the class material you provide is balanced in a way so that each family/child will have a quality experience and will be taking something away from each class. I think it is helpful to engage one-on-one with each child/family, either within the session or after a session is done. The act of checking in with each family is helpful to determine if they are finding success within the classes and if they feel the class is fulfilling their child’s abilities and level of development.

Another challenge that could come up is more to do with the parents in the group. If a parent has multiple children in the group, they might find it hard to balance the amount of attention they give to each child within the class, especially if one of those children is an infant. As the music therapist, we could help with this role by providing validation/needed attention to the older sibling, especially during those moments when the parent is in a position where they need to direct their attention to their younger child, ie: if they have a baby in the group with them (if they get hungry, sleepy, fidgety, etc.).

I agree with what Victoria said as well, in regards to the idea that mixed-age groups forces older children to develop empathy faster. Being placed in an environment where other children in the group are not of the same age helps increase the child’s awareness of others and increase their ability to think beyond themselves. As Erika mentioned, this increased awareness of others (and increase awareness of others’ abilities) could motivate them to take on the role of a helper in the group.

[Joanne Van Eycke]

There can be many challenges with providing multi-age groups, which is why it is so important to structure the group for success. Finding a balance of songs that will engage the older ones, but not over stimulate the babies is important. I really like Erika’s suggestion of enlisting the older children to be helpers. I’ve noticed that this sometimes brings even more awareness of the group and the helpers become invested in making the activities successful.

Another challenge would be when a parent has two children that are mobile. In the music group I attend, I notice the stress and frustration of these parents at times. Parents express the feeling of being “outnumbered” and that the children are often going in opposite directions. Supporting these parents in the group and reassuring that it’s ok for the children to explore since the room is safe and setup for exploration is especially important for these parents. I’ve noticed that the other families are also very helpful when a parent is “outnumbered.” This is a great part of a community group when everyone pitches in for the enjoyment safety of the all participants and not just your specific child.

[Debrah Evans]

I think that everyone above mentioned a lot of the difficulties that can arise from groups with diverse developmental levels. It’s about a balance of keeping every developmental level engaged and not overstimulated while still managing to promote the relationship that brought them to the group in the first place. Additionally, you have to consider each song and how it could address the needs of each child, because if it is too challenging for one dyad, it could dis-engage those children as well. I think like a few people mentioned above, it is great when the older kids can help and b leaders, and I loved what Victoria said about it teaching the older children empathy.

I think that what a few people said as using the music as an opportunity to help support parents, and to use the group as a community support for parents as well, and I loved what Courtney offered about checking in with each parent to make sure that the group is helping to meet their needs and expectations as well.

[Tori Clark]

I think being organized and prepared is key. Of course, we always want to be organized and prepared, but multi-age groupings require that you not have any hesitations or rough transitions, or it is easy to lose the flow of the group. Part of that preparation is not only being able to differentiate instructions for a variety of developmental levels, but also to tailor instructions to families who have one child vs families with 2 or more children. In other words, you have not only the variable of different developmental levels, but also the variable of parent-to-child ratio within each family which will determine their response and participation. So I think the way to prepare for that is to anticipate ahead of time how each family in that group might respond, and to make suggestions accordingly.<br />
Behaviors could be another challenge. In my own experience with taking a 1yo and a 4yo to a class, the 1yo was clingy and 4yo wanted to run around most of the time, and it was difficult to support both children. It was helpful when the facilitator directed my older child. I think Meredith has been right to point out that parents expect us to be the leader and to redirect when necessary. I could see that being of high necessity for this group in particular.

[Peggy Grace]

Obviously, the differences in development of multi-age groupings is a challenge in of itself. You may have infants 0-9 months mixed with energetic 2 year olds, so fusing the musical needs of both I think requires special planning. Having the variety of songs, including soft and upbeat songs helps to ease this challenge. I also agree with Victoria. If you have older children in the group many of them will have more compassion and become “helpers” in the group. This in turn can be excellent models for the younger children and hopefully instill that same compassion and helpfulness as they grow.

[Megan Neil]

Providing for multiple ages within groups is difficult. I just had a home visit last week with my one little girl who is about 1 year old and her sister who is 4. Throughout the session big sister kept demanding that we do a certain song or play a certain instrument. Mom expressed to me after group that the little one is not showing affection toward big sister and feels that little sister is getting frustrated with big sister always trying to grab control. I think it’s great material to work on in sessions together! How to find the balance for everyone getting attention but especially for big sister to understand that little sister needs more attention in many ways right now. I think that keeping everyone engaged is important but can be hard. I think providing moments for Mom/Dad/Grandma/Caregiver to engage with each child individually is important and for the children to engage with each other individually is important. As the music therapist it is our job to assess and find ways to set this up and create this space for it all to happen.

[Anonymous]

Wonderful insights everyone! I really enjoyed how you each reflected on the questions and each other’s responses.

[Janet Buchanan]

The main challenge I see with the Family Sprouts class is keeping the stimulus level appropriate for everyone. While the littlest ones need some more quiet and bonding with their caregivers, the session needs to be enough for the older ones to stay interested and feel like their needs are being met. Particularly if there are siblings, it might be difficult for some of the bigger kids to feel like they are getting enough attention—I LOVE how you described the way to accommodate multiple children on a parent’s lap to let them bond with their parent and their sibling at the same time. I think that a really important component of planning these sessions is making sure that the stimulus level meets the group where they are at, and moves only gradually from song to song. Slowly bringing the energy level up makes sure that you do get to the higher-energy songs that some of the bigger kids are looking for while preventing the babies from being totally startled and upset. Having several different songs in your back pocket, making transitions smooth, and being able to respond in the moment to your group is really important to keeping the group steady and a good experience for all.

[Author]

Posts