Music keeps Mum from losing it

Music is definitely one of the things that kept me sane through my children's early years. There is a song for every section of the day, every routine, every mishap and surprise.

When my babies were little, I would go into their room in the morning when I heard that they were awake. I would sing a "good morning" song before I got them out of their cot. I would sing about the weather and what we were going to do that day.

Then we needed to get dressed. This is a rich vein! From Mulberry Bush to Hurry Up Sue, there are lots of songs to encourage children to get ready. As they grew older and began to learn to do things themselves, the songs could be used to remind them of what to do without nagging.

I found tickle rhymes to be a lovely way to connect with my young babies. Games like Round the Garden and This Little Piggy are full of anticipation for the tickle at the end. They also help the child to become aware of the different parts of their body.

Peekabo games are an endless source of entertainment for babies, who have not yet worked out that objects still exist when they are not seen. Children want you to play these games over and over and over (and over and over.....). It can be a bit wearing. I kept reminding myself that repetition is good for babies. It still sends you round the twist sometimes. You can add interest by varying the length of time that you are hidden, or "appearing" in different places.

One more time...

Kids just love repetition - the same book over and over, or the same song or game. I think it helped that I understood the developmental theory behind what was going on. It kept me more interested and saved my brain from turning to mush.

If a child wanted the same book for the third time, I might sing it instead of reading it normally. This works well with rhyming text, especially if you are good at making up tunes on the spot.

Now, I know this sounds awful, but playing with my young children can get pretty tedious. Other mums who take the time to play with their young kids every day will hopefully forgive me this comment. I find songs help me stay with my children and play when I might otherwise have gotten too bored and fed up.

Playing shops for the umpteenth time, we sing a variation on Five Currant Buns. There are songs for building with blocks and many songs to use with toy trains and cars. When you play ball you can sing Roll That Little Ball. Rhymes and songs about swinging are employed at the park. The world of drama unfolds for three year-olds and you can pretend to be all the characters in the nursery rhymes and songs, go on a bear hunt or hide like a jack-in-the-box. My youngest is starting to get interested in numbers, so we do all the finger-plays: five little ducks, three pink jellyfish, three cheeky monkeys, etc. When we work in the kitchen we recite Choppity Chop or sing Stir Up the Pudding-o.

Out and about in the car or the pram, we sing transport songs. In the car we use Bumpity Bump, Let's Go Driving or that Playschool traffic light song. We can also sing about birdies and trees and whatever we happen upon. We only get a few strange looks...

Hush-a-bye....

When my babies were upset or over-tired, singing often helped to settle them. Familiar restful songs, and a cuddle and a steady pat would often (but not always!) calm us both down. The baby could feel the comforting vibration of my voice through my body.

Even now, I have found songs handy when my three year-old is upset. At Christmas time a stool fell on his big toe and it was very painful, even with pain killers administered. He was finding it hard to get to sleep. So we started to sing the blues about his poor sore toe. He calmed down, shed a few tears and then went to sleep. The words of the song acknowledged his pain and showed that I empathised.

As a regular part of the bed-time routine, I sing a lullaby. It (hopefully!) signals the end of the bed-time routine and indicates that it's time to snuggle down. A favourite of ours is Morningtown Ride. It has multiple verses, so I can keep going by cycling them through if necessary. Then I can revert to humming. I must admit, my bed-time routines are pretty drawn out. I can be a bit of a push-over. My husband is usually out of the room much more quickly when he is doing the bed-time.

Well, this is getting to be a very long post. I could expand on each aspect mentioned - maybe I will later. Music continues to get me through my day, every day. And now, the kids sing back!

Image 1: 'Carmen de Miranda is confused!...'
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Image 2: 'Mom says....'
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Image 3: 'Mom and the little guy'
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