Emily Ford shares this lovely article about the importance of connecting with your child...
"Playing with your baby can be one of the sweetest joys of parenthood.
But cavorting on the carpet and frolicking in the yard with an infant or toddler does not come naturally to everyone.
If you're pregnant with your first child and have little experience with babies, watching veteran parents mesmerize their children with rhyme and song or elicit giggles and belly laughs with finger play can be a little intimidating.
But just like how to diaper or swaddle or nurse, you can learn how to play with your kid. And mastering the art of Here Comes a Mousey or Shoe the Little Horse is tons more fun than learning how to take a rectal temperature.
Playing with your baby is just as important as feeding or clothing the cutie pie. Play has a crucial role in a baby's social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.
Play also helps you bond with your child. Plus, the more your baby laughs, the less she cries.
I have five pregnant or postpartum friends and relatives, my own little baby boom. After going years without attending a baby shower, I've enjoyed ordering artwork from Salisbury artists Emily Brinskelle and Meredith Abramson (who have the neatest baby gifts at whimziggystyle.com) and browsing through my collection of how-to parenting books.
I'll hand down the books to my sister Laura, who is due in January. And who, by the way, is not the Laura whose husband learned from his dog in a dream that she was pregnant.
One of my favorites is Pat-a-Cake and Other Play Rhymes by Joanna Cole, who also wrote the Magic School Bus series.
Worn and tattered, that book stayed in my diaper bag for years and helped me turn what could have been agonizing hours on airplanes and in waiting rooms into happy memories.
Many adults are not used to breaking into song or dance or even spending time on the floor. But through nursery rhymes, silly ditties and floor play, we can reconnect with our own childhood and see the world through our baby's eyes.
If your jig is less than graceful, your voice far from melodious, who cares? I'm sure I made some angel's ears bleed every time I sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," but my kids loved it anyway.
Singing, even off-key, to a cranky tot can work magic.
Incorporating play throughout baby's day will entertain junior while turning chores into enriching experiences. Elaine Martin's book Baby Games includes songs and games for diaper changes, getting dressed, eating, quiet time, outdoors, bath time and more.
Play doesn't have to be elaborate. My kids loved to wait in anticipation while I circled a finger above them saying, "I'm gonna bore a hole and I don't know where, I'm gonna bore a hole right...there!" Tickling, and squeals of delight, followed.
Babycenter.com has wonderful play suggestions, and taking a Kindermusik class can give you hands-on training in songs and games.
Learning how to play with your baby benefits you both. We all played once. We just need to remember how."
Kids Studio Berlin News
Explore Sounds With Your Children
We all know that every little baby is an amazing, beautiful miracle, right? And what about those perfectly formed, adorable ears? Are they the most incredible things ever? Possibly. Research has also shown that new-born babies have quite amazing hearing abilities. They are capable of recognising all the sounds in all the languages used on the planet, whereas us poor adults find it difficult to distinguish between the long and short 'e', or the 'o' with or without the umlaut! So, what goes on in those soft delicate folds?
In short, selective hearing. From the age of around six months, babies start to focus on vowel sounds. They begin to recognise the ones they hear most often and store them away for future use. Later they do the same with consonants. By the age of one year, they have stored all the sounds they need to communicate. At an older age, language learning becomes progressively more difficult.
Knowledge of music is also learnt in these early months. The more music your child listens to at a young age, the more aware s/he will be of all the sounds in the world. This will give a huge advantage to your child when learning about music, learning to play an instrument and discovering his/her own vocal expressions.
Vocal play is a natural form of communication between parent and child. The more varied it is, the more sounds your child will hear, and therefore remember, and be able to use at a later date. The vocal play in Kindermusik classes will give you some ideas to use at home. There are few, if any, rules so feel free to let loose and express yourself through your own personal instrument – your voice. The sound of the parents' voice is important to a child's listening skills, music ability and language development.
In short, selective hearing. From the age of around six months, babies start to focus on vowel sounds. They begin to recognise the ones they hear most often and store them away for future use. Later they do the same with consonants. By the age of one year, they have stored all the sounds they need to communicate. At an older age, language learning becomes progressively more difficult.
Knowledge of music is also learnt in these early months. The more music your child listens to at a young age, the more aware s/he will be of all the sounds in the world. This will give a huge advantage to your child when learning about music, learning to play an instrument and discovering his/her own vocal expressions.
Vocal play is a natural form of communication between parent and child. The more varied it is, the more sounds your child will hear, and therefore remember, and be able to use at a later date. The vocal play in Kindermusik classes will give you some ideas to use at home. There are few, if any, rules so feel free to let loose and express yourself through your own personal instrument – your voice. The sound of the parents' voice is important to a child's listening skills, music ability and language development.
Practicing Pays Off For Young Musicians
ScienceDaily reported that a new study has found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training -- not only in tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity (skills honed by the study of a musical instrument), but also on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music).
Click here to read the full story!
Click here to read the full story!
"Musik braucht keine Rechtfertigung"
Hier ist ein interessanter Artikel aus der Wiener Zeitung "Die Presse".
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