Making Music

My little L, one year old last week, is very into music these days. He bobs and sways to the beat of whatever is playing on the radio. Then, he looks up at me and smiles, as if to say, "Mom, isn't this song great?"

It's amazing to me how responsive young children are to rhythms. I recently learned that kids as young as three can keep a steady beat without even putting any thought into it. It's obvious that humans are innately musical.

There are great programs to get kids involved in music, such as Kindermusik. But, there are so many ways to foster this interest in music without fancy classes or equipment.

I put out kitchen bowls, pots and containers of different sizes and let L "drum" with different spoons. He's learned that wooden ones make different sounds than plastic ones. Bells and rattles are fun to shake to the beat of silly songs. You can also keep the beat for kids by clapping their hands or feet together.

There are lots of great kids CDs out there, but I prefer to play for Liam a variety of music that I enjoy. We listen to a lot of jazz and blues, but also country and even rap. His dad makes sure plenty of indie rock gets added to the mix.

Music also makes for a good intervention at just the right time. When L's tired or close to a meltdown after a long day, I sometimes just turn on the radio and hold him while we dance around the living room together.

He looks up at me and smiles.