Going Retro!

Fashions seem to be cyclical in nature. Just when a style has passed into distant memory, designers drudge it up again with a tiny tweak to freshen it up for the “new” look book. You have to have accumulated a few years to notice this, though. Flare jeans were a new thing to me when I was in middle school, but my mom promptly showed me vintage pics of my dad sporting some totally groovy plaid flare pants. It was then I realized that fashion just built upon itself, year after year, revisiting some styles with perceived merit.

Well, I am officially old enough now to recognize the ‘80’s fashion coming back around in the form of high-rise jeans, scrunchies, and crop tops, and it got me into a retro mindset. I started remembering more of the awesome ‘80’s and life as a young child then. It was a great time!

Children’s choir was a standard activity for kids at church in the 1980’s, and I was all about it! I believe my involvement in kids’ choir helped to shape who I am today through community and through the songs I learned during those impressionable years. Reminiscing about those days, I pulled up the Psalty albums on Spotify for my kids one day for some car music. We always call older songs “vintage” in my house instead of “dated” because the former sounds intriguing and a bit cool. To my delight, my second daughter loved so many of the songs! She was singing along in no time and picked up a few of the (rather difficult) harmonies as well. I was quite surprised to hear the challenging harmony structure and the part singing throughout these kids’ songs, and it dawned on me that I probably developed a bit of my musical ear from singing these very songs.

My daughter has always seemed to have a sixth sense of being able to judge quality, and her seal of approval on the music reminded me that a good melody will make a good song even with some “vintage” instrumentation or vocal stylings. She and I had the best time that afternoon of driving around listening to these ‘80’s tunes. My 2-year-old son was also grooving along, picking up bits and pieces of the songs with a big smile.

We were all singing together and having fun—so much bonding was happening in that very moment. It was also a way of connecting my children to my own sweet childhood memories in a way they could grasp. You better believe we will have a reprise of this sing-along—and I don’t think I’ll have to be the one to initiate it. I am pretty sure I will hear a cute young voice asking for the “Ha La La” song, and I will be so excited to hit the play button.

Share your retro songs with your kids! They might love some. They might think some are better left in another decade, but you might find a few goodies that will speak to everyone and become family favorites. Tell the stories that go along with the song. Did you sing the song in children’s choir? Was this your favorite song in second grade? Did your dad sing this song to you when you were afraid? Our kids love hearing these stories, and they will appreciate a shared song much more when they get some background information. So as you are pulling out the retro gear to pass on to your children, don’t forget to dust off those favorite “vintage” songs as well.

7 Reasons to Sing with Your Toddler

Maybe you have been lamenting the fact that your Spotify profile boasts more Wee Sing and silly song hits than that indie acoustic band you discovered last year. Or perhaps you have to nurse your raw throat with honeyed tea after the marathon nursery song singalong you hosted in your child’s bedroom last night. Maybe you are relishing the fact that your little one doesn’t care if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Whatever situation you find yourself in, toddlers love music, and you are their primary DJ for the next decade, so let’s talk about all the wonderful benefits of singing with your toddler.

1.) Increased vocabulary

Just as reading picture books helps toddlers grow in language awareness by association, singing songs helps a toddler place words within a context. When a child practices these songs repeatedly, he is ordering new words and grasping their meaning in a cohesive way. The poetic element of music also assists a child understand the flow and rhythm of language.

2.) Motor skill development

Music, in general, provides the rhythm that a toddler unabashedly enjoys. He might jump or sway to the beat or simply tap his fingers gently. Although his dancing is quite clumsy, his little brain is hard at work to coordinate entire muscle groups to a perceived rhythm and mood. I am always intrigued by how easily a very young child can adapt his or her movements to the tempo and mood of a song.

Singing also adds another layer of coordination as the child matches verbal ideas with specific movements. “The Wheels on the Bus” is a perfect example of the concrete hand motions a child moves rhythmically to illustrate an idea that is being sung. We take this for granted as adults, but it is remarkable to see a toddler putting all of this together.

3.) Listening skills

Singing with your toddlers also introduces auditory discernment. Children must listen to understand and reproduce the words they hear. They also learn to match the volume and even the style of singing in some cases.

4.) Observation skills

Toddlers are not too young to begin hearing distinctions in different pieces of music. Questions like, “What instrument do you hear?” or “Should we march or tiptoe for this song?” help prompt them to take a moment to observe and even participate with newfound concepts.

5.) Aural development

Matching pitch might be one of the earliest refinements a child learns on his road to singing with others. In the preschool stage, children are beginning to understand that they may sing with others, so to prepare toddlers to make this transition, singing rounds like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” may help tune their ears to match an outside pitch. Any song that has melodic intervals that are based on the tonic triad is excellent for little ears to begin making these pitch connections.

6.) Long-Term Memory

Music is magical! We have all heard the stories of the aged who cannot remember what happened earlier that day, but they can remember the songs from their childhood. We all employ music to aid our memory. Have you ever sung your ABC’s to alphabetize something? Do you skip count by 5’s in the sing-song way your third-grade teacher taught you? Yes, singing with toddlers teaches their brains to make pathways and store information in their long-term memory even before they comprehend the words they are singing. Remarkable!

7.) Building a loving bond

Lest we think that singing with our toddlers serves only utilitarian brain-building functions, I must mention that when you sing with your child, you are forming a lasting bond with her. That bond is filled with fun, love, and warmth. Studies indicate that people who sing together experience a rush of oxytocin, which is known as the bonding chemical. Those who sing together feel a connection that is not achieved in many other ways. It is such a beautiful byproduct of a delightful activity, and it costs nothing and takes no advance planning.

So what are we waiting for? Our house is filled with music for most of the day. We sing along with our streaming service, we make up silly songs, and we sing hymns in the evening. We dance and groove to our nursery songs, and we clap to songs with a strong pulse. My little guy loves music, and at 20 months, he is already singing and filling in the words he knows. Almost nothing excites him more than one of his favorite songs!

What are your kids’ favorite songs? Do you all sing together as a family? What children’s albums do your children enjoy? Please share! Remember: your children won’t recall if the laundry was always folded and put away, but they will remember that you sang with them everyday.

Conversing with Your Children about Current Events through Song

This year caught us all by surprise. We had no idea that society would shut down for several months, that graduation ceremonies would be canceled, or that toilet paper would become a luxury item. Yes, the new Roaring Twenties have, in fact, been roaring at us.

Our children might understand bits and pieces of the pockets of mayhem around them, but they might not be processing the picture as a whole. They might not even know the questions to ask, and we, as parents, might not even perceive they need to be answered. The longer I am a parent, the more I find these two statements to be true: 1.) Children are more aware and perceptive than they usually share, and 2.) children yearn for straightforward honesty from their parents first before any other source.

Because we live with this little audience looking for guidance, we must not neglect the opportunity to be there for these precious ones. Filling our homes with truth-saturated songs and occasionally pulling out a lyric of reassurance or asking a subtle question will help us engage with our children on a deeper level even during uncertain times. Quality hymns and songs speak to every part of human existence, so these heavier issues are bound to arise, and when they do, the resulting conversation is so much more organic.

For instance, Lauren Daigle’s “Trust in You” and MercyMe’s “Even If” both speak to navigating the world through faith in the Lord even when answers and full pathways are not clearly evident. A conversation of faith in God’s good character may ensue, and the songs will cause the truth to be stickier in little hearts and minds than a passing conversation. What an opportunity be the influence in your child’s life! Do not think that your preteen or teenager has forsaken your advice and confidence entirely! This unique time in history gives you the platform to build even more credibility with your growing children by the way you engage with them and support them when the world feels so chaotic. If you are not afraid to speak openly with your children, they will learn to come to you when they need to work out their own worldviews.

Think about what you need to hear right now. We all need a strong, calming voice to say, “Things are okay. The world is not out of control. There will be an end to the mess, and life will continue. You have hope because this is not all there is.” Now take a moment to consider that your children need to hear the same words. How can you give this to them? How can you approach this subject in a gentle way that will yield a deeper relationship? The songs that have touched your heart in recent days are waiting to be shared with your children. In a moment of vulnerability, you might give your children a glimpse into your interaction with current events and open that door to a genuine conversation.

Our children are the future leaders of our world. We have the privilege of parenting them and thereby molding the future of society. We must sing with them and talk with them and guide them. Your place in their lives is so important.

What songs have supported you during 2020? Have you learned any new songs this year? What old songs from your past have comforted you? Please share! One can never have too many songs in the arsenal!