The Power of Music

It's almost Lag Baomer which means it's almost time for Music! It's amazing what a miracle music can do for kids. In little kids classrooms they always have music playing while the kids color, it makes a more relaxed environment. But even starting younger than that, as a baby, the cribs have lullaby's playing from them. One time I was babysitting a one year old and he had been sleeping and then woke up and started crying, I tried getting him to quiet down and nothing worked. Then the parents said to try turning on the music and put him in the carriage and wheel him back and forth, and it worked, the kid fell back asleep.

Now going back to toddler age, whenever you want a kid to remember something, you teach it to them in a song and they can remember practically anything, and it sticks to when they get older. That could show the importance of having appropriate music playing around young kids.

Then as kids get older, in elementary school, they usually make tapes with their class of different songs they learned throughout the year, its something the child can cherish for the rest of their life, it has so many memories attached to it and triggers many pleasant memories you forget about in your hectic everyday lives.

I remember going to a house where motzei shabbos they would turn on the music loud and everyone would get to work cleaning up after shabbos. The music was so enjoyable and put an exciting mood into the air, that the kids actually wanted to clean up and didn't feel like they were doing hard work. Because the music can get you into a mood to be productive and it awakens you to get active. That's also why a gym would have music playing so the people don't think about working out, but rather the music causes them to want to move.

Music can also help in long car rides, after an hour kids start getting restless. With story tapes it may be good for a while, but then the kids loose focus and don't have the energy to comprehend the story. With music the kids don't have to focus on the song, it becomes background music, they can listen without having to put thought into it.

Music can also get kids to get wild sometimes, if the music is too loud they can get hyper. If the music is on in a bedroom then the kids will start jumping on the bed singing on top of their lungs. I guess the bed feels like a stage to them, and they get to bounce up and down which is the movement the music causes. But then if the kids get too wild there's always a solution, just turn off or lower the music and they will behave again.

Then there's also the lite and relaxing music played at dentists or doctors. When a kid is about to get a shot, their not too pleased about it and they will start crying. So the music relaxes them and puts them at ease and gives them something else to pay attention to. By closing your eyes and just focusing on the music you can transform yourself to a different place and then by the time you open your eyes its all over with and the pain is gone.

If a kid is angry and upset they can put on music, usually with headphones. It will block out the rest of the world and leave them in solitude a bit so they can think it all over and calm down. Then there's the actual playing of music, usually drums work the best when a kid is angry. Give them something to bang on and they get their frustration out, they get to hear the loud noise and they feel their anger is being heard.