{"id":2897,"date":"2025-05-28T16:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T20:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/?p=2897"},"modified":"2025-06-16T13:58:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T17:58:31","slug":"musical-tips-for-parenting-how-do-i-get-my-child-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/musical-tips-for-parenting-how-do-i-get-my-child-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Musical Tips for Parenting\u2013Chapter 1: How do I get my child to\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are so many aspects of parenting that are fun: witnessing first milestones; seeing your child laugh as they begin to discover life; and of course, the snuggles during Music Together\u00ae<\/sup> lullabies! But, we\u2019ve all had those days: \u201cPut on your socks,\u201d \u201cGet in the car,\u201d \u201cEat your peas\u2026\u201d and it just doesn\u2019t happen without a hassle. Sometimes we can feel stuck if our children don\u2019t want to come along for the ride. Well, there is one way to ease this stress\u2013and maybe encourage your children to switch gears and do what they need to do. Try singing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share the feeling<\/strong>
Believe it or not, your child (in general) wants to do what you\u2019re doing. It turns out that young children are hard-wired to pick up on their grownups\u2019 facial cues and intuit their emotional responses to events. In other words, distress and frustration make more distress and frustration. BUT, it also means that if you start singing, your child will most likely pay attention, and therefore have a model of something else<\/em> to imitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following your lead is not only biological, it\u2019s also educational. Author Ellen Galinsky, in the book Mind in the Making<\/em>, says, \u201cImitation accelerates learning and multiplies learning opportunities.\u201d If you can switch gears and start singing to your child, they might just take your cue and follow along.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Shifting focus<\/strong>
Shifting focus by singing about the activity you want to encourage, like, \u201cLet\u2019s put on our shoes now\u2026\u201d might seem hard, but if you\u2019ve been in Music Together class, you\u2019ve already experienced it. Your teacher has most likely demonstrated how so many Music Together songs are adaptable to everyday tasks and situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the song \u201cBiddy Biddy\u201d (available to stream for free on your favorite music player app). In class you might have sat on the floor with egg shakers singing different sounds and syllables. But on another day, you might have sung, \u201cBrushing, brushing, brushing\u2026\u201d as you made the motions of brushing your teeth\u2013or, \u201cCombing, combing, coming\u2026\u201d as you pretended to comb your hair. Likewise, in the song, \u201cRidin\u2019 in the Car,\u201d (available on the free Music Together app)<\/a>, you probably not only sang, \u201cZoom, zoom, ridin\u2019 in the car,\u201d but also sang about different things you (and your child) do in the car, such as, \u201cbuck-buck-buckling up,\u201d as you click yourself into your imaginary car seat. or \u201cWave, wave, wavin\u2019 to a friend\u2026\u201d etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try singing about what you\u2019re doing when your child needs a little encouragement to get the job done! Through playful music, you can help your child focus AND shift your own<\/em> attention from the stress you may be feeling as you try to get your child to complete the current task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice makes progress<\/strong>
You\u2019ve probably heard your Music Together teacher talk about the importance of playing and singing your Music Together songs at home. Familiarity with the songs can deepen your child\u2019s music learning and help them (and you) participate more in class and have more fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now you have gotten a glimpse into another<\/em> reason to take your music home with you: to practice adapting songs to match your child\u2019s daily routine! Using concrete examples of musical activities from your class at home during the day allows you and your child to practice singing through daily activities. Slowly, over time, you might find yourself adapting songs on your own with more confidence and ease. And that just might pay off for your child. And for you, too.<\/p>\n\n\n

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To wrap it up<\/strong>
As much as practicing these skills is important, music is also fun! Just the act of singing in and of itself can be rewarding. Make sure you\u2019re singing when you\u2019re having fun with your child, too\u2013not just during the stressful times. Keep coming to class with your family and show your child that music-making can be a part of every<\/em> day. As for the tough parts of the day when you just can\u2019t seem to get your child on board, try singing about it and see how it goes. You can do it! And don\u2019t forget the ways your brain changes when you make music. More of that to come in the next blog post. Stay tuned and happy singing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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There are so many aspects of parenting that are fun: witnessing first milestones; seeing your child laugh as they begin to discover life; and of course, the snuggles during Music Together\u00ae lullabies! But, we\u2019ve all had those days: \u201cPut on your socks,\u201d \u201cGet in the car,\u201d \u201cEat your peas\u2026\u201d and it just doesn\u2019t happen without… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,154,4],"tags":[87,56,153,30],"class_list":["post-2897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mt-at-home","category-musical-parenting-hacks","category-parent-education","tag-child-development","tag-music-at-home","tag-music-learning-supports-all-learning","tag-music-together"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2897"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2907,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897\/revisions\/2907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}