If you had a childhood like ours, chances are that you have plenty of memories of music throughout the ages. When is it too soon to introduce music to a child? Is a newborn too overstimulated by blasting music or a loud television? You may notice just how startled the tiny ones can become. Let’s explore this.
One of the many tricky elements of parenting is knowing how much or how little one should be doing something. There seems to be so much debate on each and every topic so it can become frustrating and overwhelming to attempt figuring out what the best options are. You are creating memories and associations with each and every action of yours.
Sound Exploration
Once you’ve decided that you’re going to go the route of exploring playing music for your tiny one, let’s discuss the options. If it’s strictly for bedtime purposes, you’ll want to save the upbeat dance music for another part of the day when you’re looking to excite your child. So, when it comes to lulling your baby to sleep, look no further than the lullaby! There’s a reason why these have become associated with children. They’re a calming, slow tempo and don’t contain a lot of sonic surprises. Imagine these as being the exact opposite of something like EDM or some major life-giving musical piece.
One little life hack that we love when it comes to baby music is a little trick known as the lullabies for adults. Have you heard of the music renditions of Rockabye Baby? They take fan favorites such as The Foo Fighters, Nirvana and other contemporary artists and turn them into soothing, slow, peaceful lullabies for your children. When you’ve outplayed the traditional tunes for a baby, this is where you can turn to. It might help after you’ve heard the playlists for the 100th time.
Wind-Down Time, But Not All Night
Now, one very important element when it comes to playing music for your baby to wind down to is not getting them too used to it. It is strongly suggested that you only play the music to get them into sleep mode, rather than leaving it on all night. This method can accompany the rest of the mood, such as a darkened room, perhaps a noise machine and something warm for them to wear. This method can be used during both nap time and bed time. The key reason for not leaving the music on is that the child will become accustomed to having this is the background and if they wake up in silence, they may become confused, frazzled and it may be impossible to ween them off of it once they’ve become used to the sound during every sleep session.
Ultimately, every child is different. We suggest consulting your pediatrician to see what may fit best for your child. A little experimenting here and there can do wonders as well. Who knows? Maybe the only way to get your angsty baby to sleep is heavy metal turned down to a very low volume? You never know what kind of surprises your little one may bring into your life!
