Bedtime is an important daily activity that helps babies and children calm down, reflect, and nurture secure attachments with their caregivers. Yoga can be a great tool to get a child ready for a restful night's sleep! 

BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, swish, swash, muffle,…BOOM BOOM… 
These sounds are the background music in your womb- a soothing blend of interior and exterior riffs working to the rhythmic base of your pumping heart. The saying ‘music is within us’ is more true than we think. In fact, it’s both within us AND around us from the moment our hearts start beating inside mom’s belly.  
 
It has been proven that learning music and rhythm early correlates with higher achievement in grade school. (i) This is nature’s way of telling us that music plays a very special role in human life.  
 
For adults and babies alike, music brings joy, peace, mental-stimulation, and so much more (which is why our classes at Little Beats are designed to be an experience that caregivers can equally enjoy!). But in the early childhood years especially, music is the best tool for learning because it engages young ones with their world using language, social/emotional, cognitive, AND physical experiences.
 
Here are some examples of how music is helping our children grow every day at Little Beats: 

• Self-Regulation:
  • Using start and stop exercises with our instruments and through games like freeze dance, children gain self-regulation skills by asserting control over the instrument in hand (or your body).
• Confidence:
  • Lots of bonding happens in shared musical experiences whether it’s forming special memories with your caregiver or making new friends. A grown-up who sings to their little one repeatedly and frequently fosters trust, love, and communication that builds self-esteem from babyhood.
  • Especially in the classroom or studio setting, providing consistent musical cues  (like the “Clean Up Song”) during class transitions allows children to mentally prepare for and anticipate what’s next. When they are aware of what’s happening, they feel confident, calm, and engaged, which sets the stage for learning. 
• Problem Solving
  • When children interact with instruments during circle time, they are exploring the cause-and-effect relationship between their bodies, the instrument, and the sound it produces. This promotes fine motor and cognitive skill building. (ii.)
  • In addition to producing music, receiving it also requires all areas of the brain. Even when listening to music as babies, our brains are stimulated and challenged to make sense of rhythmic patterns, pitches, volumes, tempos, lyrical rhyme schemes, and melodies. (Learning rhythm is difficult and the sooner you start exposing it to your children, the better which is why we begin our class with a rhythmic “Welcome Rap.”) 
• Language development:
  • Musical patterns help us remember things more easily! How do we learn the alphabet? ‘The ABC’s’ song. How do we learn our animal noises? ‘Old MacDonald! ‘How do we learn our body parts? ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!’ Emulating and filling in sounds and words to familiar tunes help babies puzzle together the earliest pieces of their vocabularies. (iii.)  Pairing imagery with songs as we do during 5 ‘Little Speckled Frogs’ also reinforces vocabulary.

 
At Little Beats, we aim to foster this natural instint that children have for music and use it for physical and mental growth.  As Marc Trachtenberg, founder of Rock-A-Baby says, “Music is a part of us, and I don’t think enough people are talking about that… It’s just there in us ready to ignite.” (From Rhode Island NPR article 2014) 

While posture seems like something we cannot teach, it is highly influenced by the habits we develop in early childhood.  With children (even toddlers) spending so much time hunched over hand held devices, it is only natural that their shoulders are rolling forward.  In order to sit or stand up tall, children need trunk strength which is often lacking in children who do not get enough free play time (and Tummy Time!) in their first 3 years. 

“Perfect” posture while sitting involves knees, hips, and ankles all positioned at 90 degrees… sounds like your child, right?!  Chances are, this isn’t the case but there are so many things you can do you assist your mini me with standing tall and proud as they grow into adulthood!

Here’s a few ideas to help you get started:

• In babyhood, around 4-6 months when baby is learning to sit independently, avoid containers that 'prop them up' in a seated position before their muscles are ready to support that position
• In the first 7 months, get your tummy time in to build proper back alignment and important core muscles
• In babyhood, around 5-7 months, encourage your baby to use their hands to find the floor between their legs, this is a tripod sitting - an important step in their physical development
• Model good posture.  You are your child’s best teacher!
• Encourage your child to MOVE…often!  This will help them to develop strength in their core - which will improve overall posture.
• Have your kiddo sit on a stability ball to further develop core muscles.  
• Adjust your child if you find them sitting in a "W" position (here's why)

 
Want to learn more on this topic? Visit our favorite blog- The Inspired Treehouse, to learn more from OT's on developing posture skills. 

​Using just a few common signs can make a world of a difference in enabling your child to communicate. ​Your baby's language development is happening LONG before they can talk. Communication includes non-verbal language as well as music. Baby is reading your face, following your actions, and trying to imitate you earlier then you think. (So set a good example :)) Studies have shown that babies are perceptive to rhythm, tempo, and pitch even from the time they are in the womb. This is why they respond so well to nursery rhymes, songs, and high-pitch voices. All of these things help a little brain absorb new language skills. 

Sign is useful from about 7-18 months because this age has SOO much to say but are not yet able to talk. Empowering your baby with tools for communicating before they are able to speak also can mitigate major drama during a frustrating time in their lives. Don't worry about learning a million signs, here are the ones you'll use most: 'MORE,' 'MILK,' 'EAT,' 'ALL DONE,' 'BOOK,' AND 'PLAY' you can learn these signs and more here!

I remember feeling so silly signing to my baby all the time (especially in public) but a little embarrassment was totally worth it because by 9 months old, my baby was signing and by 14 months, she was saying the words while signing. Ever since, she has blown us away with her language skills. She also always felt 'in-the-know' about what we were doing or what activity was coming up next and this gave her a sense of security and confidence from age 1-2 making her a much more enjoyable little tyke! But the key is to do it OFTEN, repetition is the only way baby will learn.