Parenting for Beginners

Make them dance.
Make them swing.
Make them feel they can do anything.

Yes! Music is fun for your kids and a great way for you to connect with your toddlers. Many parents observe that it’s never too early for children to start learning music. Some can go in for basic formal training at age 3.

Here are some of the great things that music can do for your children:

• Experts recognize music as a positive developmental stimulus for growing children.
• Music gives children movements that lend confidence and stride to developing children.
• Music can be a learning tool too as children are more susceptible to learn their words and pictures when they are set to the rhythm of music.
• Music lessons for older toddlers are known to increase their brainpower.

Follow these few tips to help your toddler get started on music:

• Play classical music in the morning and keep it on for longer hours.
• Avoid grunge and hard metal music.
• Be spontaneous and break out into song and dance once a while.
• Start your kids off with the piano, as there is no special fingering that they need to master.
• Toddlers love reggae music and songs with a bit of narrative. Buy lots of that stuff for their listening pleasure.
• Keep music as an integral part of your child’s life.

Remember also that you have a choice over what kind of music your child listens to. If you don’t want to hear Barney or Raffi, don’t buy their music or put on their TV shows. There is plenty of other great music, some old and some new, that your child will love.

Whether you call it a parenting skill or not, love and affection is the most important thing for your newborn baby. Many studies indicate that physical contact between parent and child is important for development. Luckily for you, many of the parenting skills come naturally to new dads if you’re able to grow with the role of being a dad.

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It seems music is an integral part of growing up baby.

Some experts suggest letting the baby listen to classical music while some experts say a limited repertoire may actually contribute to a limited vocabulary for babies.

I don’t know about experts but my baby sure likes music. A lot of it. For a time he has been fixating on “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, remix by J Nevins. Before that, he wanted his father’s techno music, probably because that’s what his papa had been playing while I was pregnant.

Children’s music can be very expensive, and most CDs contain just about the same songs with a handful of orginals. So I rely on my Window’s Media Player to shop for music. It’s like doing it in iTunes but you have several vendors to choose from. From the price and ease, I go to Walmart [available right on your WM Player].

Best buys I’d recommend are the Countdown Kids’ “100 all time favorite songs”, “100 silly songs”, The wiggles’ “big red car” and the Carebears holiday tunes. They are actually entertaining! My once techno/trance DJ hubba said, “I’d never in my life expect I’d enjoy baby music!” I guess they crafted the lyrics for the parents and the melody for babies!

For mellower tunes, you can check out the Twin Sisters’ “Blessed Slumber” and Classical Music.