[Cynthia White]

1. Active
2. Engaging
3. Genuine
4. Loving
5. Safe Exploration

1. It’s okay if they leave the group and come back, kiddos at this age want to explore their surroundings! We just want to make sure we’re keeping an eye on them so they stay safe.
2. They might be quiet right now, but their eye contact is showing me that they’re soaking up all of this information and music.
3. It’s hard to let go when they’re starting to become more independent. They’re growing and learning and they know you’re there to support them!
4. Children at this age like anticipated surprises- surprises that are playful and they know are coming.
5. It’s okay if they don’t go along with my movements of shaking high or low, it’s great that they’re making their own musical choices now!

Gathering and Greeting- Hey Hey Come and Play! Sing gathering song with various dynamics, utilizing gentle crescendo and dynamic changes to excite and engage children.

Bonding- Little Red Wagon. Children sit in caregivers’ laps facing out. Caregivers gently bounce children up and down while singing.

Song About Me- All of This is Me. Provide model of identifying various body parts in song, assisting children with identification of body parts as needed.

Instrument Song- Sit With Me and Shake. Children explore various shakers (maracas, chiquitas, jingle bells, etc.) while shaking instruments. Can adapt the lyrics to “stand with me and shake,” “dance with me and shake,” and/or “

Movement Song- I’m in the Mood by Raffi. Encourage children to try various movements in song and caregivers to provide the model of various movements (clapping, stomping, dancing, etc.). Watch children’s natural movements and incorporate them in the lyrics.

Goodbye Song- Music Time is Over. Sing song while providing steady beat by patting legs and providing ASL for “all done”. Repeat as many times as needed to assist with transition out of session.

[Cynthia White]

Rebecca and Cheryl, you both brought up great points! Rebecca, I found your examples of how to alter our music to encourage a positive response very helpful. I’m not a parent yet myself, so Cheryl I appreciate your reminder that the new parents can absolutely get overstimulated as well!!

In my practice, I try to take cues from my clients that indicate they’re overstimulated. We all have different tolerance levels and thresholds for noise/sound, so I think we just need to be observant and aware while providing that music stimulus. With the kiddos around this age group, I’ve seen it manifest as crying, shaking their head, turning their head away, tensing their body, or saying “no”. As I develop relationships with these kiddos I’m able to pinpoint what it looks like when they’re overstimulated, as well as get to know how much is enough/how much is too much (which can also depend on the day, their emotional state, if they’re tired, etc.) In a session of 3-year-old the other day, we were singing one verse of a song loud and one little one held his ears and said “too loud!” It’s great when they have the language to tell us, but especially when they don’t, we need to be observant of what their nonverbal cues and responses are telling us.

[Cynthia White]

Cheryl, sounds like you have a great design for a longitudinal research study 🙂

[Cynthia White]

5 words: Gentle, playful, exploratory, nurturing, and calming.

Speaking to parents:
1. (if baby fell asleep) It’s totally normal for babies to fall asleep to music. I know you want her to be awake for this, but it’s great that she felt so relaxed in our group!
2. (baby responding/turning head when mom/dad sings) did you see that? He turned his head when you started singing! Babies recognize mom and dad’s voice the most, so it’s comforting when you sing to them.
3. It might seem repetitive to sing these songs so many times, but your baby isn’t bored! She’s doing something new each time we’re singing it- isn’t that cool?
4. At this age, your baby’s brain is developing very quickly. They’re making new connections in their brain with each new experience, and they are working hard to grow and learn. If they get overwhelmed, it’s okay to be quiet for a while or to lower your voice.
5. Babies at this age have an active startle response, which means they may startle to abrupt or loud sounds. It helps to speak and sing in a softer tone of voice, while making eye contact with your baby and providing comforting touch or holding them.

Plan:
Gathering and Greeting- Today’s a Beautiful Day
• Sing hello gently to each child while parents hold them in their laps.
Bonding- Way Up High in the Apple Tree
• Caregiver pulls legs up at 45 degree angle with feet on the floor, with baby on legs facing caregiver.
• If younger- Caregiver sings along while gently rocking side to side.
• If older- Caregiver sings along while gently moving baby’s arms side to side and hugging baby during song.
Song about Me- Where is my Face with scarves
• Instruct caregivers to place scarf in front of their faces and lifting scarf while we sing to the babies. Caregivers assist baby in exploring scarf, feeling its texture and looking at it.
Instrument Song- In My Little Hand
• Utilizing baby’s natural grasp reflexes, caregivers assist baby in holding maraca and exploring instrument.
• Caregivers assist baby in gently shaking maraca while singing to baby. Assist parent in learning baby’s cues (startle reflex,
Movement Song- Pick Your Hands Up High
• Caregivers assist babies in gently raising arms and moving side to side, while gently rocking.
Goodbye- The More We Get Together.
• I like utilizing this song and encouraging caregivers to provide ASL signs for “more,” “together,” and “happier,” or assisting their baby in using these signs in the song.

[Cynthia White]

Sara, I identify with your community’s needs. Your response reminded me that music can help our families repair and re-connect amidst pain and adversity. Sounds like you are doing some incredible, hopeful work where you are!

[Cynthia White]

Sabrina, I love your emphasis on the hope music therapy can bring to families! Beautiful reminder!

[Cynthia White]

I wanted to share a few cool moments from sessions over the last few weeks. I sang “Will You Come” and a two-year old responded by singing “Yes I’ll come” whenever I sang the words “will you come?”! Then in another classroom of two-year olds, I sang “Are You Ready for Music?” and a little boy has made it a point to get my attention (so we pause for a moment) and he says “Miss Cindy- I like music!” These responses were so sweet and powerful and made me really excited to include more questions in songs to encourage communication and responses.

[Cynthia White]

As my colleagues have mentioned, I believe we as music therapists have different natural abilities that have been strengthened through extensive education, research, and training. I love that we are required to pursue continuing education, because that shows just how committed the Music Therapy field is to staying up-to-date and always seeking to help others. Personally, my passion to help the community has grown in my current job. Seeing the needs of my local community is very powerful, and music therapy helps address those needs in such a different way. There’s a huge stigma against therapy in the community I work in, but people are receptive to music! I’ve found that music therapy bridges the gap. A lot of people love music, so how cool is it that we can provide a nonthreatening, evidence-based approach to therapy that centers around something they’re interested in and enjoy.

[Cynthia White]

April, Rebecca, and Erika, I’m glad I’m not alone! Thank you for sharing your experiences in such an honest way. Our natural abilities and training help us navigate this world in a very different way than people who work in other professions. My roommate has told me “I’m so happy I live with a therapist” and also “stop therap-izing me” haha so it can definitely be hard to shut it off outside of work 🙂 I know I’m a newbie to the field, so I’m still figuring it out, but recently the difference between identity, calling, and assignment has been popping up from different sources in my life. This might be a controversial response, but I personally find that recognizing all parts of my identity helps me (especially if I had a bad day at work, or sessions didn’t go as planned). I’m strong in my Christian faith, so I believe my identity is centered in Jesus, and I’ve had many a mentor remind me that there are so many facets of who I am. My career assignment is being a music therapist, but my calling is to spread joy and love to others through music and connection. Reminding myself of my higher purpose and that my career isn’t everything takes a huge load off my shoulders!

Also Rebecca, you put that conflict in such gracious and rational words! It’s so important to be an advocate for our field, but to do it in a kind and respectful way. Good for you for standing up for music therapists everywhere!

[Cynthia White]

Rebecca, I love that you’re seeing applications of this training outside of just our music therapy practice- I totally am too! It’s so cool that you can look back and see that what you were doing was beneficial, although you didn’t have a formal training/experience in it. Sounds like that was your natural gift of music and being in tune with the needs of others shining through! 🙂

[Cynthia White]

The experiences that come to mind are my experiences in the NICU during my undergrad and internship. I remember how subtle the babies’ responses were when they were so young- maybe a head turn, moving arms/legs, or the occasional smile. It was really interesting to see how music could affect the babies’ emotional and physical states. I have a lot of experience babysitting children of this age range, and I’ve always used music to engage them. I love using lullaby-style singing to soothe babies, and it’s fun to see how babies on the older end of this age range respond to play songs and instruments. Something I’ve learned from using music with children this young is that (as we’ve mentioned before) silence is SO important. Their brains are taking in so much new information all the time, so it’s so important to allow space and time for the babies to take it all in. I love audibly breathing in the music, and I’ve had a few experiences in which I matched my breathing to their’s, then gradually slowed. In these experiences, the baby calmed down and their breathing synced up with mine. It proves Beth and Meredith’s point that music is more than just the notes- it’s also breath support, timbre, rests, etc.!

[Cynthia White]

Cheryl- preach it, sister!! Your passion for your work shines through your words. Would you mind if I shared your comment with my co-workers? You said it so well!

[Cynthia White]

Cheryl, thank you so much 🙂 I’m blessed to have a very supportive therapy team at my current job, and reading everyone’s responses on these forums is really re-energizing me! Thank you for your validation!

[Cynthia White]

Rebecca, I love what you said! I totally agree. We are able to meet our clients where they’re at and provide a variety of interventions, based in evidence and research. The combination of our strong background in music skills with our learned and developed clinical skills is so helpful. We have knowledge of various theoretical orientations and can look at things through multiple lenses- developmental, musical, creative, attachment-based, humanistic, culture-centered, medical, biopsychosocial- although one or more lenses might make more sense to us. Personally, I appreciate having had experience working with people in a variety of ages and stages (in practicum placements and internship), because it helps me look at the whole person and how I can best help each family member.

[Cynthia White]

Rebecca, thank you so much for the support!

Your passion for what you do exudes in your responses on these forums 🙂 I’ve had that response too- “my kid doesn’t/I don’t need therapy”. I think we’ll need to continue what we’re doing, and paying attention to what factors are contributing to the stigma of mental health in our communities. Time is absolutely crucial in building these programs, and I know I have trouble staying patient!

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