• So I decided to switch gears last minute with this blog post when the latest in COVID  had students in Regina stay home. Parents have all had to dive into the world of virtual learning at home to some level this past year. While your student is home, adding some music into the day can be a helpful way of decreasing stress levels, breaking up the day, getting in some physical activity and helping to lighten the mood!
• Here are a few suggestions:
  • Start the day with your favourite tunes! While the people in your home may all have different music tastes, give everyone a chance to put on their favourite song. Sing along! Ask your child why it’s their favourite song. This can be great insight into how they are feeling.
  • Dance Party. Need I say more? Whether its disco, pop or some children’s upbeat tunes. (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music all have playlists you can try!) If your child thinks its cheesy.. dance harder. Even if they they are older and role their eyes, your child seeing you act goofy can be comforting and help break tension. On Fridays my dad would always put music on after school and I remember it fondly, even if it was Elvis..
  • Participate, don’t just listen. I have been doing baby groups for 9 years now, and there is something I see constantly. If mom/dad participate, baby will start to participate, move to a beat, rock, babble away.. If mom and dad sit and listen baby will do the same. Babies in the group are watching me, but they aren’t taking their cues from me. They take their cues from mom/dad on how to respond. Dance. Sing. Play.
  • Sound breaks. If your home is a busy one just a quick note I recommend to all my clients. Take sound breaks. That is when the tv is off, the humming of the laptop is off, the iPads are off and let yourself adjust to quiet. This can be a good time to “check in” both with yourself, and your child. If you ears are ringing, if your shoulders are tense, your eyes might feel strained. Decreasing all stimulus in your space can help to identify stressors. You may notice you are dehydrated and it is time to fill up the water bottles. Try setting your alarm once in the morning and in the afternoon during the school day to shut everything off and just give everyone a break. For young children 3 and under I recommend no more then 30 minutes of music and then turn it off for awhile. You can always come back to it!

I hope this helps! If you are looking for more music / music therapy for your preschool, daycare or for your child feel free to reach out to me at Wildflowers.

Written by Tyne Heenan, Neurologic Music Therapist at Wildflowers