emotions

Music for Tantrum Time: A Soothing Solution for Parents

Music for Tantrum Time: A Soothing Solution for Parents
Tantrums are a common part of childhood, often triggered by frustration or overstimulation. As a parent, finding effective strategies to manage these emotional outbursts can be challenging. One powerful tool at your disposal that most parents don't think about is music.

The Power of Music in Managing Tantrums

Research shows that music can serve as an effective distraction during tantrums. Familiar songs can create a sense of comfort, calming songs can lower heart rate and help children come back to a regulated state quicker, and engaging rhythms of faster songs encourage participation, helping to redirect your child's focus away from the big feelings they can't express or verbalize yet.

Top Songs for Calming Tantrums

To help you navigate tantrum time, consider creating a calming playlist. Here are some common songs that are effective in soothing children:
  • "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
  • "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
  • "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles
  • "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
  • "Canon in D" by Pachelbel

But the most important part of picking a song isn't the song -- it is YOU. Can you sing the song soothingly? Can you access it to play easily? Songs that you know and can sing to create relational bonding with your child and help co-regulate with them to calm are going to be the most effective.

How to Use Music Effectively

  1. Immediate Response: Sing a fun, upbeat song that your child loves when you notice signs of an impending tantrum.
  2. During Meltdowns: If your child is already upset, sing softly and rock them or hold them (if they will allow) to create a calming environment.
  3. Routine Integration: Incorporate music into daily routines to help your child feel more secure and reduce resistance to transitions, which are often the source of tantrums. If you recognize a trigger event or time of day for your child to have a tantrum, how can you creatively incorporate music to help them cooperate, calm, or experience that part of day more easily?

Additional Strategies for Tantrum Management

While music is a great tool, it should be part of a bigger strategy that includes acknowledging emotions, creating a calm environment, and identifying triggers to prevent tantrums. How to effectively do this will be outlined in an easy-to-implement, systematic way in the Purposeful Parenting course -- coming soon! Join The Classical Collective group to be notified first when it goes live and for an exclusive discount.

Using music during tantrum time can help diffuse emotional outbursts and foster emotional resilience in children. By curating a thoughtful playlist or list of songs you can sing and integrating it into daily life, parents can create an atmosphere where children feel understood and supported, making tantrums easier to manage. And isn't that what we want as parents? A smoother day for us, growth for our children, and a happy, calm home environment.

Music as a Tool for Emotional Regulation: Helping Children Express and Manage Feelings

Music as a Tool for Emotional Regulation: Helping Children Express and Manage Feelings
In today's fast-paced world, children often struggle to understand and manage their emotions. As parents and educators, it's crucial to provide our children with effective tools for emotional regulation. One powerful yet often overlooked method is the use of music. Let's explore how music can be a valuable asset in helping children express and manage their feelings, ultimately leading to better emotional well-being.

The Power of Music in Emotional Development

Music has been an integral part of human culture for thousands of years, and its impact on our emotions is undeniable. For children, music can serve as a bridge to understanding and expressing complex feelings that they may not yet have the vocabulary to articulate.

How Music Affects the Brain

Research has shown that music activates multiple areas of the brain, including those responsible for emotion, memory, and motor control. When children engage with music, whether by listening, singing, or playing instruments, they're exercising these neural pathways and developing stronger emotional intelligence.

Using Music for Emotional Expression

One of the primary benefits of music in emotional regulation is its ability to help children express their feelings. Here are some ways to incorporate music into a child's emotional toolkit:
  1. Songwriting: Encourage children to write their own songs about their feelings. This creative process allows them to explore and articulate their emotions in a safe, structured way.
  2. Musical Journaling: Suggest that children keep a "musical journal" where they associate different songs with various emotions or experiences.
  3. Mood Playlists: Help children create playlists for different moods, teaching them to recognize and manage their emotions through music selection.

Music as a Calming Tool

In addition to expression, music can be a powerful tool for managing and regulating emotions, particularly in stressful situations. I wrote a whole blog post on this topic, but keep reading for a few quick tips below.

Techniques for Using Music to Calm

  1. Deep Breathing with Music: Teach children to synchronize their breathing with slow, calming music to reduce anxiety and stress.
  2. Musical Mindfulness: Guide children through mindfulness exercises accompanied by soothing background music to promote relaxation and focus.
  3. Instrument Play: Encourage children to play simple instruments like drums or xylophones as a way to release pent-up emotions and energy.

Incorporating Music into Daily Routines

To maximize the benefits of music for emotional regulation, it's important to make it a regular part of a child's life. Here are some suggestions:
  1. Morning Music: Start the day with upbeat, energizing music to set a positive tone. Consider a dance party while getting dressed or brushing teeth!
  2. Transition Tunes: Use specific songs to signal transitions between activities, helping children manage changes in their routine. This might be my favorite. :)
  3. Bedtime Lullabies: End the day with calming music to promote relaxation and better sleep.

The Role of Music Education

Formal music education can play a significant role in developing a child's emotional regulation skills. Learning to play an instrument or participating in group music activities such as choir can:
  • Boost self-esteem and confidence
  • Teach patience and perseverance
  • Provide a healthy outlet for self-expression
  • Improve social skills through group collaboration
Music is a powerful, accessible tool for helping children navigate the complex world of emotions. By incorporating music into daily life and emotional learning, we can provide children with a lifelong skill for expressing and managing their feelings. As they grow, this musical foundation will continue to serve them, creating a balance between their inner emotional world and their outward expressions. Remember, every child is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Experiment with different musical approaches and be patient as your children learn to use this new emotional language. With time and practice, music can become an invaluable tool in a child's journey towards emotional well-being.


This is my health story

 

I have always been sensitive. That's a word that has described me, my body in particular, my whole life. I have skin sensitivities to fabrics, bruise easily, I get cold easily, I tend to be on "alert" all of the time (no coffee needed here!), I'm a musician and very creative, and I don't even THINK about using any conventional personal care or other products that are scented... they bother my skin, and they bother my respiratory system too. I've never been able to use any scented products because of the discomfort and increased sensitivity they cause. I can't be around people who wear perfume or scented deodorant, because I can't breathe well and my head has discomfort. I can't go into a public bathroom that has been just cleaned because of the toxic chemicals they used to clean it. I can't enjoy candles or most lotions or makeup like most women I know because I'm sensitive to it.

During my first semester of college, I started to develop debilitating discomfort in my jaw, which I was later told is TMJD or temporomandibular joint dysfunction, not just the kind of little twinge when you bite down on something too hard, but long-lasting aching, along with clicking and cracking. It was exacerbated by singing, gum-chewing, caffeine, and other things, and I was easily able to cut out all of the things listed on my doctor's list except for one -- singing. I was a vocal music education major, and singing was my livelihood (or at least soon-to-be), so I couldn't just not practice! I struggled so hard for 2.5 years through long choir rehearsals, voice lessons, practice sessions, and more. By the end of the day, it would be so bad that I'd almost be in tears. My roommates and boyfriend (and his roommates!), bless their servant hearts, would bring me freezing cold ice packs to numb my face enough so that I could fall asleep at least, though I would wake up in the night unable to fall back asleep due to other sleep issues I also was dealing with.

It seemed like a vicious cycle that I needed to stop. Maybe I needed to change majors and give up my dream of making music, of teaching others to make music too. Maybe I needed to pick something that didn't require so much singing and talking. Even smiling a lot bothered me, so maybe I needed to pick a major or job with less human interaction. But THAT idea broke my heart. I didn't enjoy any of the things I could think of! My boyfriend at the time (now husband!) and I had many conversations about what I should do... singing was part of the fabric of my BEING. I am MADE to sing. If you know me, you know that hardly an hour went by without me humming or singing some little tune. But my jaw bothered me so much most of the time that I needed to change SOMETHING. But what?

And that's when change came...

I found some natural and pretty simple solutions -- though simple doesn't always mean easy! It required a LOT of discipline and self-control on my part.

I'm blessed now to have so many versatile tools in my tool box for any emotion, body system, or issue I may be experiencing. So, where am I now? Healthier than I’ve EVER been. I have NO jaw issues anymore when I keep up my self-created protocol. I sleep through the night. I feel so much better now that I'm sleeping more and deeper. I've spent 4 years now working through the emotional issues I faced in early career, and I am so happy that I can now FEEL emotions without feeling completely run-over and frozen by emotions. I’m also happy to say that I have only had little illnesses since finding solutions, not the constant strep throat and other illnesses I was getting at least once per month before! And, that’s saying a lot as I was constantly around germs while working full time with 500+ elementary students. But once I started supporting my immune system, I stopped getting sick every couple of weeks. I can clean with the most amazing smelling cleaner without coughing. I can wear my own homemade "perfume" and get compliments, and not only does it smell good, it supports my body systems. I can use amazing smelling shampoo now! I can have twice as much energy for the day without drinking any coffee or sugary drink. When I started having these successes, I was at first in disbelief, and now in awe at all that God's created, I believe, and given us for our good. Now these are my first line of defense, my go-tos, the first thing I do when something is off, which is not very often anymore (usually just when the weather changes, ah MN life).


I look forward to living a beautiful life of freedom and feeling empowered every single day, enjoying the life I was meant to live. That life includes sharing my story of overcoming and helping you also find better, safer solutions to overcome your daily struggles.

Are you ready to live empowered to be your own best advocate? Let's chat.

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