Posted on: Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

6 Easy Ways to Use Music in Your Child’s Daily Routine.
By Andrew Littlefield, MM, MT-BC

As a music therapist, I utilize music-based interventions to address important non-music goals for my clients, such as communication, academic, or social skills.

Frequently, parents ask me how they can incorporate some of what I do into their child’s daily routine. Music is a wonderful way to teach a variety of skills, relieve stress, and enrich a child’s life. Here are 6 ways you can incorporate music into your child’s daily routine!

• Morning Music Jam
While we adults have the benefit of a nice, strong cup of coffee to get us going in the morning, chances are your kids aren’t firing up the old Keurig. Pick out a playlist of their favorite energetic tunes to listen to while they get ready for school, and help them get those brain waves jamming!

• Tuneful Transitions
Music can be a fantastic aid for children who have difficulty transitioning. Certain songs or sung phrases can serve as a behavioral cue to finish a task and prepare for the next, a reminder to get ready for bed, or a call for dinner. Songs also set up a natural timer (When the song ends, you must be ready to go!)

• Songs for Learning
Admit it: when you’re alphabetizing things at work, you still sing bits and pieces of “The Alphabet Song” in your head. Adding a melody and rhythm to information makes it easier for our brains to process and memorize. I once wrote a rap song for some of my students about the functions of cells (Let’s see, what rhymes with “endoplasmic reticulum?”) There are tons of free rhyming dictionaries online, and programs like Garage Band allow beginners to easily write and record their own songs. Here’s a few songwriting tips to get you started!

• Teaching Behaviors With Music
The best way to avoid problems is to proactively prevent them from happening in the first place. Many parents already prep their children for various situations by talking about appropriate and inappropriate behaviors beforehand. Whether it’s a trip to the grocery store or going to a movie, setting up expectations can nip problems in the bud before the even get started. Throw a melody and rhythm on those instructions and you’ll increase the likelihood that those lessons stick!

• Family Dance Party
Cut loose! For both kids and adults, a little loud music on the stereo (not too loud! Keep it below 80 decibels to avoid hearing damage!) combined with some rock-star style singing and dancing can be a great stress reliever and serves as a fantastic bonding opportunity. Don’t worry about how good or bad of a singer you are! Your kid doesn’t care! Well, at least until she turns 11…

• Off to Bed
In many households, bedtime is a daily struggle. Similar to my earlier point about transitioning, using music to signal the approach of lights-out can help ease the protests. Pro-tip: make a playlist that starts with more energetic songs, then pick tunes that gradually decrease in tempo and intensity until you have a nice, soothing piece of music at the end. In the music therapy world, we call this the iso-principle.

That’s it! Start adding some tunes to your routine today!

“Andrew Littlefield, MM, MT-BC is a music therapist and Assistant Director at The George Center for Music Therapy, Inc. in the metro-Atlanta, Georgia area.  The George Center has served hundreds of clients in the Atlanta area, many of who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum.“