Mary had a little COW

I am now partnering with Bright Horizons e-family news letters to bring you some great kid articles they publish a few times a month.

When I opened this article today, I was cracking up because we do play some of the musical games mentioned. All of my kids love music, but my three-year-old really gets into it. I always sing No Doubt's "Hey Baby, hey baby hey, girls say, boys say." Then I catch him on the floor with the baby saying, "Hey Baby, girls talk, boys talk." He is so funny.

So when this article said to try and change the words to a popular kid's song and see what happens, I jumped right on that.

I said, "Mary had a little SPIDER." He started giggling and then immediately sang, "Mary had a little COW, little COW, little COW." Then it was, "Mary had a little PIG, little PIG, little PIG." And on and on. I suggest you try it. It was an entertaining morning for us!

Music as Children Grow Children of all ages express themselves through music. Even at an early age children sway, bounce, or move their hands in response to music they hear. Many preschoolers make up songs and, with no self-consciousness, sing to themselves as they play. Kids in elementary school learn to sing together as a group and possibly learn to play a musical instrument. Older children dance to the music of their favorite rock and roll bands and use music to form friendships and share feelings.

Infants Infants recognize the melody of a song long before they understand the words. They often try to mimic sounds and start moving to the music as soon as they are physically able. Quiet, background music can be soothing for many infants, especially at sleep time, but loud background music may over-stimulate an infant by raising the noise level of the room. Sing simple, short songs to infants in a high, soft voice. Try making up one or two lines about bathing, dressing, or eating to sing to them while you do these activities.

Toddlers Toddlers love to dance and move to music. They enjoy the repetition of songs which encourages the use of words and memorization. Silly songs make them laugh. Try singing a familiar song and inserting a silly word in the place of the correct word, like “Mary had a little spider” instead of lamb. Let them reproduce rhythms by clapping or tapping objects.

Preschoolers Preschoolers enjoy singing just to be singing. They aren’t self-conscious about their ability and most are eager to let their voices roar. They like songs that repeat words and melodies, rhythms with a definite beat, and words that ask them to do things. Preschool children enjoy nursery rhymes and songs about familiar things like toys, animals, play activities, and people. They also like finger plays and nonsense rhymes with or without musical accompaniment.

School-Age Children Most school-age children are intrigued by songs that involve counting, spelling, or remembering a sequence of events. Songs and musical activities with other school subjects also are effective during this developmental stage. School-age children begin expressing their likes and dislikes of different types of music. They may express an interest in taking musical lessons.

Teenagers Teenagers may use musical experiences to form friendships, and to set themselves apart from parents and younger kids. They often want to hang out and listen to music after school with a group of friends. Remember those days of basement and garage bands? They often have a strong interest in taking music lessons or playing in a band, the lure of becoming a rock idol. School-agers and teenagers might need a reminder to keep the volume down, particularly with headsets. If we can hear music through an MP3 player headset when it's not in our own ears, it’s probably too loud.

Inappropriate Music The sharing of musical tastes between parents and kids in a family can be lots of fun, especially for us, but there often comes a time for tweens and usually teens, when they prefer music to be a part of their separate world. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Medicine, it is quite common for teenagers to get pleasure from keeping adults out and causing adults some distress, if not total shock. It probably didn’t require clinical research for us to know that, but it is reassuring to know that it’s not just our teenager that seeks separateness. Okay, but if our teens are not sharing their music, then how do we know what our children are listening to? As a family, you don’t have to listen to “their” music together, but as a parent, you can still control what they listen to by telling your child what is inappropriate for your family, by paying attention to your teenager's purchasing and downloading. Some super stores have stickers that indicate appropriate material. Trying an open discussion without criticism may be helpful. There are also many parental control software programs for music and internet usage.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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