Sharing love with your children through music can be a beautiful and enriching experience. Here are some ways to do it!
SINGING TOGETHER: Singing songs together can create a fun bond between you and your child. I’ve always loved finding music that my boys and I can listen to and enjoy together. (And that’s why I write the children’s music that I do!) When driving in the car together we often meet in the middle and find music that we want to sing together. For my older boys, that’s Imagine Dragons (and I’m happy for it because I never used to listen to them and I really enjoy the music!) and I even listen to a bit of Sponge Bog Squarepants every now and then. I really love listening to Frances England songs together - they definitely hit the right note. And, we all love to sing along to my dinosaur songs! ☺️ The key is to make sure that you’re choosing music you can both relate to in some way — there are some children’s songs that I just cannot listen to on repeat and so, we may not bond over those songs. 😊 And, there is a lot of music that I listen to that isn’t the right age for my kids. Choosing songs that have meaningful lyrics or melodies that resonate with you both is where to focus, whether it’s lullabies, folk songs, or even popular tunes that you both enjoy.
PLAYING INSTRUMENTS: I’ve recently started piano lessons with my boys and it’s such a wonderful way to connect. I’ve always showed them things about the keyboard here and there and we’ve definitely played together a lot, but now we have a slot each week where we are really focusing on learning to read music. If you don’t yet play an instrument, or you’re picking up an instrument after years of not playing it, learn it together! My eldest son and I are learning guitar together on the Loog children’s guitars. I have always wanted to learn to play guitar and this is the perfect jumping in point for both of us. I love the quality one-on-one time that we get.
ATTENDING CONCERTS OR MUSICAL EVENTS: Take your child to concerts, musicals, or other live performances. Experiencing music in a live setting can be incredibly inspiring and memorable. I recently took my three older boys to a 4th Wall Music production — local singer songwriters were backed during performance by a string quartet. It was so beautiful and the boys had fun! They definitely loved the snacks 😊 but they also enjoyed the different songs and we had a great chat about all of the different instruments they saw and heard. On the ride home we even extended the experience by listening to all of the songs on Spotify, comparing their original arrangements with what we heard that afternoon. Spending time together and sharing something that I love with my boys is a wonderful way to show love.
SHARING PERSONAL STORIES THROUGH MUSIC: Share stories from your own life that are connected to music. Whether it's memories of songs you loved as a child or experiences you had at concerts, these personal stories can deepen your connection with your child and create lasting memories. We all know how powerful music is when it comes to our memories and it is not only wonderful for ourselves to think back on the fun times that our favourite songs bring up for us but it’s great for our kids to feel us reaching out to them and connecting by sharing a part of ourselves with them.
I hope you all enjoy a great Love Day ❤️ this year and that some of these ideas give you a way to share your love with your kids. Communication, a good laugh, time spent together — these all work toward strengthening the beautiful bond between you and your child. ✨