|
Quote of the Week
"Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth, and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart." - Shinichi Suzuki
Why Parents Sing To Babies
"Are we born to sing? New research suggests that music is critical to emotional and social development. [...]
'Babies recognize the voice much, much earlier than they recognize a mother’s face,” says Trehub. “Voice is a very powerful stimulus for an infant.'
When I was a young mother, I sang to my babies constantly. Singing comes pretty naturally to me, but I’ve noticed that most parents—even those who don’t normally carry a tune—seem to sing to their babies, even if just at bedtime..
Why? That’s the question tackled in recent studies by Sandra Trehub and colleagues. Trehub, a researcher at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, has studied the impacts of singing on babies and found that singing—more than talking—keeps babies calm and can lead to stronger social bonds with parents, improved health, and even greater language fluency." [read more]
Reading Corner
 Title: Love You Forever
By: Robert Munsch
Ages: 4+
"The mother sings to her sleeping baby: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." She still sings the same song when her baby has turned into a fractious 2-year-old, a slovenly 9-year-old, and then a raucous teen. So far so ordinary--but this is one persistent lady. When her son grows up and leaves home, she takes to driving across town with a ladder on the car roof, climbing through her grown son's window, and rocking the sleeping man in the same way. Then, inevitably, the day comes when she's too old and sick to hold him, and the roles are at last reversed." - Amazon Reviewer
Recommended by Cubs Editors
Be The Change
Music can sometimes be overwhelming especially to parents whose musical skills aren't necessary the highlight of their being. However, we are naturally surrounded by music, from the chirping of birds, to the synchronized notes of pots and pans as we wash them, to the regular spinning sounds of the washing machine, to the first sound a child hears in the mother's womb - that of her heart beat! Let's reconnect back to these sounds as we rush through our lives almost daily. Stop with your child and see if you can spot the numerous sounds of nature as you walk through a garden or a grocery store, during a car ride, or even while you laze around at home on a Sunday morning!
Kindful Kids newsletter is a resource for parents who are keen to teach children about compassion and service. It reaches 3,646 subscribers. You can unsubscribe here.
|
