What are the needs of the families you work with?

[Meredith Pizzi]

What are the needs of the families you work with? What are the needs of your community? Share with the board how your families and communities might be unique.

[Alison Barrington]

At the moment I am only doing a small amount of work in this area. I have taken over a class of preschoolers but with only one helper (and not family carers). So I would like to address the need to have sessions that include moms/dads/carers etc. So that would be one great step forward as I see this as a fundamental reason for doing these sessions.
I am also about to have meetings with some local leaders to see if I can encourage them to take Sprouting Melodies as a program in their nurseries, churches etc. I live in an area where the parents are very well educated and so I completely understood Meredith’s point about having very educated parents who struggle with young kids. Many of them have nannies/babysitters and I know that one of them doesn’t really like kids!!! Encouraging singing and really engaging with their kids is vital and might open some eyes about how to play with their bundles of joy!!! Good old Donald Winnicott talked about being a ‘good enough mother’. That’s a great start!

[Kimberly Rodgers-Melnick]

Love your Winnicott reference Alison! I think that the needs of the families I work with are similar to the mom in the video. Most of the parents are looking for a program that their child enjoys, that allows them to bond with their child, that supports their child’s development and can enhance their knowledge as parents. Many are looking for opportunities for socialization with other parents and kids and they are looking for an experience that extends itself beyond the weekly session (tools they can take home and use). In an instructor, I think they need someone who is knowledgeable, can assure them of the safety and security of their child in the session, someone who makes them comfortable, is personable and is enthusiastic about the services they are providing.

[Kimberly Rodgers-Melnick]

I will also add that being in Cleveland, the demographic is diverse and families need to feel welcome, accepted, included and often appreciate music that is culturally diverse and not limited to one style or genre.

[Laura Pruett]

I kind of feel like I serve two different communities in my general geographic area. There are the kids I see at the schools on the Native American reservations, outside of Phoenix, and then the families I see in the Phoenix metro area. And their needs are very different.

Of the families I work with in the Phoenix area, I don’t see any child younger than 5. But I know some of them have younger siblings. Those families’ needs are similar to the needs expressed by Alison and Kimberly above. The parents are well educated, and want to spend time with their kids in a meaningful way. Although, sometimes, they want some time away from their kids, too, haha. In many of the photos and videos we’ve seen of Sprouting Melodies groups so far, it has been the mothers that come to groups with the kids. I am guessing it is usually the mother who stay at home or work at home with the kids, and the kids’ other parent is away at work during the day when Sprouting Melodies groups occur. But I wonder if there is a desire for dads (or lesbian partner? Or gay couple?) to join in the music groups. There was talk in a few of the doula groups I take part in about starting a dad support group. A few attempts were started, but it never took off. I don’t know why exactly, but I’m wondering if Sprouting Melodies groups would feel safer for dads to participate in than a dad support group.

Of the kids on the reservations, their needs are many. One of the social workers who co-leads some groups with me says that the kids need their parents or caregivers to talk to them more. For example, a child in one of my kindergarten groups had a speech delay. She lived in a group home, where I can’t imagine she was getting the attention she needed to fully thrive. I don’t know her back story, but I know a lot of the kids are in and out of group homes, bouncing from home to home when family is able to take them back in. I honestly don’t know how to meet the many needs of this community outside of providing services at the schools, but I know the families would benefit so much if they were present in the groups. If I could tap into some community resource funding or government grant to provide Sprouting Melodies groups for families with 0-5 year olds, that would be amazing. I don’t yet know how to make those connections though.

[Laura Pruett]

Oh, I wanted to comment on something you said in the other post, Alison, that I think fits in well with this discussion. You mentioned thinking of the 5 developmental levels as also 5 levels of relationship building between the child and their parent and/or caregivers. Taking that approach can maybe help us (the providers) educate parents/caregivers on how to better relate to their child, and hopefully help them have patience and understanding for their child. It makes me think especially of families with adopted children. I know a lot of people who have adopted children, or are in the process of adopting, and could greatly benefit from MT groups to better bond with their child. I wonder if Sprouting Melodies classes would be too overstimulating for some adopted kids, though? Maybe they would do better in a Special Needs class..? I guess it would depend on the child (obviously).

[Alison Barrington]

Hi. Really interesting points that everyone is making. I particularly like the thoughts about kids who have been adopted. And it probably does depend on the situation – but worth considering.
And, in response to another comment, I’m hoping to set up Sprouting Melodies in our church. We have two couples who are both Dads – and I believe that the second couple have been encouraged to be engaged because of the first couples enthusiasm. I do hope that Dads feel able to come along and I believe that the focus and professional approach of Sprouting Melodies might encourage them. I’ll make sure to advertise thoughtfully

[Anonymous]

Laura- I regularly had moms, dads and grandparents in my Sprouting Melodies classes. I offered a Family Sprouts class which is 0-5 and then two age specific classes. For my only or first children the 0-5 class was overstimulating for both the child and the parent, particularly for children under 18 months of age. In the age specific classes I could keep the overall stimulation level lat a level the children and parents needed, which is more of a challenge in 0-5. For siblings and children over 18 months 0-5 seemed to be a great set up for many families. Children could have more of the social stimulation and it helped parents to see how other children and families were developing and interacting.

I did not offer a Special Needs group for Sprouting Melodies. My families wanted the opportunity for their child to be apart of a program that was for all children. They felt isolated always being “stuck” in special needs classes and groups. My special needs children flourished with the “neuro-typical” population. I also found my families and children that were “neuro-typical” had or developed great care and compassion for families with children that had special needs. If I was contacted by families to create a group just for their children with special needs I would have honored that to meet the families needs, however that was never requested.

Sprouting Melodies is a wonderful option for children that are adopted. “Stimulation” will be discussed in this training and it is up to us as therapists to take the “temperature of the room” (as one of Meredith’s families called it) and to adjust the stimulation to match the group. There are many techniques and considerations for this. I think families that have adopted may benefit greatly from being with all kinds of families, adopted or not, and they can learn greatly from our expertise as music therapists. Meredith and Beth are a wealth of resource on infant and early childhood mental health and attachment. If you become a provider they will support you with any endeavors in this area.

[Laura Pruett]

Erika – thanks for sharing your insights and experiences! That makes sense that families of special needs kids would want their kids to be in groups with other neuro-typical kids. And I love that Sprouting Melodies is so inclusive! I bet the families love that, too.

[Jen Hinton]

I do not currently work with families, just really supportive, knowledgeable teachers and aides. I learn so much from them. I do hope to work with families in the future and to learn from them as well as supporting them.

As I have not facilitated groups with parents, most of my parent-related thoughts are coming from my own experience as a Mom. I have a 5 1/2 year old and a 2 year old. I really identify with the “educated parent who needs support!” We train and prepare and focus for so many things in life. As a parent there are so many details to check off and so many parts of parenting to try to be good enough. Parenting is not the only reality or focus in life. Any positive support and modeling is helpful. I do think that this paradigm, Laura, lends itself really well to being a sort of educational and supportive group while not calling it a “support” or “parenting group.”

I listened to the types of group structures offered through Sprouting Melodies. I listened as a Mom and thought about what would have worked for me when my oldest was an “only” and also “how would I manage a class personally now that I have two.” Finding the right timing to attend can be a struggle and I wonder what time slots would work best for the parents in our community. I wonder about working around naps (for those really little ones) in addition to the logistics of parents or caregiver schedules. Money is always a need. Even when we find value in something…if we as parents have time in our schedule to make it happen it seems like the trade off is not enough money to make it happen. I think all of these things have got to be needs for most families. I’m guessing this might be addressed as we continue in the course.

I wish that we had a program like this offered in our community but we really do not…yet! 😉 I did as a Mom attend a series of library classes that were offered (free) to the community – both with my oldest only and with both kids. One of the needs that we parents had was to know that it was OK if our kids moved around or were loud…at times people were encouraged to take their children out if they were crying. I think that in a music-based intervention lead by a MT-BC things could be managed differently. Kimberly, I think that your comments about what a family needs from a group facilitator are great.

Our community has a variety of suburban towns as well as a moderate urban setting. There are small liberal art colleges and pre-K programs located at centers as well as in churches. I think that any of these settings could potentially engage families where they are but currently I am not aware of any programs being offered.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and for listening to my thoughts as a family member with needs! 😉

[Anonymous]

Hi Jen- Responding to your second paragraph. These questions are addressed when you become a provider. Meredith has been offering Sprouting Melodies and working with families for some time. She is a wealth of knowledge in this area and when you are a provider she is there to support you as you grow a program. I personally turned to both Meredith and Beth many times as I started my Sprouting Melodies Program, and with their help created classes with all of those things in mind, that were successful.

[Carolyn Keenan]

Jen, I am right there with you as an “educated parent who needs support.” — Which might also be a good time for me to apologize to everyone for being a little bit behind in the discussion. ;). My own thoughts and questions about the logistics of the program are very similar to yours and I am happy to see Erika’s reply! I look forward to learning more. I often hear complaints from some of my mom friends who work full time that they never have the opportunity to do these types of classes with their children because they are scheduled on weekdays.
The parents in my community are looking for a program that is fun and enjoyable, that stimulates development, that allows them to spend time with their children, and that provides them with opportunities to meet other parents. Kimberly, I absolutely agree with what you said about the qualities that parents are looking for in an instructor.

[Elana Dietz-Weinstein]

I work in a special needs pre-school, so although I don’t work directly with the children’s families, I do have communication with them about their children’s progress and what they are doing in music therapy sessions. Roughly 40% of the families of the school children live in poverty and are first generation immigrants, so I feel very blessed to be able to provide the children with music therapy sessions, as they would probably not be able to afford private sessions or “music classes” because they are too busy and do not have the resources needed to provide their children with enrichment classes and therapy.

[Mabel Ortiz]

I have yet to work in early childhood, but as one of only two MTs in my community, I know that there is a need for us to provide services to this population. Also, in my research of early childhood classes in my community, I have found that there is really not a variety for families. My community is more of a retirement town, and most services are geared towards that population. Also, there is a need for services to be provided to the Spanish speaking families in my community.

[Author]

Posts