Sharing Music With Grandchildren

“Music is a wonderful way to connect with grandchildren because it provides an avenue that you can both travel,” 

says Lillian Carson,

 author of The Essential Grandparent.

One of my favorite childhood memories is listening to a record of Harry Lauder (Scottish singer) with my grandfather. I loved a song called “Donald, where’s your trousers?” Sharing music with our grandchildren shares the things we love with the little ones we love. In addition, we can let our grandchildren share their music with us. You will score huge brownie points, especially with teen grandchildren, if you seriously listen to their favorite music.

But the last thing we want to do is announce to them, “Now we are going to listen to some music grandma loves.” There are plenty of ways to integrate music (ours and there’s) into our day to day lives:

· Make sure there is a cd player/iPod® in every place/room were you and the child spend time.

· Have a collection of music available. The library is a great place to find a variety of music. Take the child to the library with you and have each of you to choose a few cds.

· The car is an excellent place to share music. You can connect your iPod® or cell phone to your car radio. I connect my cell phone to the radio and then listen to Pandora Internet Radio, an app that lets you personalize radio. I have a Disney Channel for Tally, my 4 year old granddaughter, but we also listen to my Garth Brooks Channel and music from the 60s and 70s.

When my children were little, my husband would sing Three Dog Night’s Joy to the World to them

before they went to bed. Recently, when he had the opportunity to spend some time by himself with our granddaughter, I heard him singing it to her. She told him that her Mommy sang that song to her at night before bed. That song from my husband’s past has become part of the heritage of this family. In fact, at my daughter’s wedding, when it was time for my husband and daughter to have their Father/Daughter Dance, the DJ played…



“Jeremiah was a bull frog
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine

Singin'
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls, now
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me”

Check out the following websites that severed as the basis of this post:

http://www.stvincent.org/Health-Library/Integrated-Childrens-Solution-Center/Parenting/Just-for-Grandparents/For-Seniors--Pass-On-Your-Love-of-Music.aspx

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/jackie-silberg-importance-of-music/379002449/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/schoolage_music.html