I bookmarked this article quite some time back. It encouraged me to dig deep and keep working on completing my projects, even when they felt too big and puzzle-like to ever fit together nicely. As all creatives know, some days facing the big wide world (and an over-ambitious plan of your own making) feels like too big a mountain to climb! It's much easier to hide away and write a new song or bake cookies...
Both of these are perfectly good coping strategies, and also when you're trying to be a creative parent, giving yourself permission for flexible timelines is essential I have found. Birthdays, tooth fairy visits, homework assignments, playdates are not roadblocks, they are the journey!
Anyway, to the point... As Laura says in this article:
"It doesn't really matter what you sing to a young child, just sing!"
To sum up quickly: attention, connectedness, and patterning all add up to prepare little tiny minds for learning speech while building their deepest foundations of trust, belonging, and happiness to be in this world where somebody loves them best of all. Somedays, all I want to hear is my Mama sing to me again, too. I even invited my mother, Deni, to sing on my most recent album because her voice is magic!
The music I create in my little wild music studio is part of a chorus of encouragement for parents. So many amazing artists serve this niche uniquely and with great heart to help people find music they love and feel confident to share with their children.
The best voice(s) for a young baby is that of their parents, singing whatever song brings them joy, so sing it loud (or quiet), mums and dads!
But when you need a rest or need some inspiration or companionship for the adventure of parenting, I love sharing stories, feelings, empathy, and humour through the songs I write 🌸🌿
How singing builds a strong foundation for language in babies and toddlers