For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved music. I loved listening to it, singing along with it and dancing to the beat. It always made me feel happy and more alive. I still feel the same way to this day. I jam out in the car, in the shower, the gym, and just about anywhere I can. I know most songs by heart and I am sure I annoy the crap out of my dear husband singing along in the car to almost every song but hey, he married me right? He knew what he was getting into.
I feel like I have passed this love onto my daughter. Ever since the day she came into our lives, I’ve sang to her. I let her sleep on my chest and let her hear my voice and sing whatever came to mind. Lullabies, songs, and made up songs talking about how sweet she was and how loved she was. 19 months of singing and dancing with her has turned her into the sweetest music lover. I’ll play a song in the morning and we will have a morning dance party before school. She hears the beat and her smile lights up the room. She laughs, claps her hands, and moves her little body around. We sing songs to and from school, we dance and sing in the evenings, and we play music on Alexa every night while she is asleep. I let the sweet melodies calm her little body and help her sleep. She has now started singing songs without any music. She starts to clap her hands and her little voice starts singing whatever song she is feeling like, mostly Baby Shark. She looks at me for direction and I tell her to keep singing and that her voice is beautiful. I want her to know she can feel comfortable and let her little voice be heard.
I’ve learned how music helps with a child’s development. It helps with their social-emotional skills, physical (motor) skills, thinking (cognitive) skills, and language and literacy skills. Music has surely helped our bond and our attachment to each other. I have watched her blossom into a sassy and independent little 19 month old. She knows the moves to so many songs, knows the words to a few but mostly she knows that she is able to have fun and be silly. We also have incorporated musical instruments into our dance parties. Dad plays a mean xylophone and our daughter can play her little drums like no other. We sing along to whatever instruments we are playing and just enjoy our time spent together. She has even asked her daddy to sing to her and dance with her which he happily does. I love that our household is able to share a love for music and I personally look forward to many more dance parties and jam sessions.
