Day 9: Help Them Be Heard

"Where words fail, music speaks." - Hans Christian Anderson

Children learn to speak when they are two years old, right? No, in fact, even in utero. Children are listening but to speech, to the cadence in our voice. The highs, the lows, the emotions. And children learn to read and write in kindergarten, right? Preschool maybe? No again! Even in their first months of life, they are sponges, picking up language faster in their first two years of life then anytime afterwards. They are listening to the stories you read, watching you flip the pages as they learn the concepts of print and that those squiggly lines and symbols mean something.

It is the same with the language of music. In the first couple years of life, infants hear the soothing vibrations on your chest as they hear you sing while you rock them to sleep. They coo and explore different sounds with their voice. They clap and bang things to explore the sounds they make. They move to the music we play. And if they see music in print, they learn that those notes and symbols mean something. Just like letters and words. 

So why do we wait until children are in third or fourth grade to introduce them to music lessons? Would we wait until kids are in kindergarten to speak And read to them? To show them their first story or picture book when they're six? Why do we start them so young? Because the early years count!

The more languages children have to express themselves, the easier it will be for them to feel confident voicing their thoughts, being creative, and be able to process their emotions and thoughts. What do we do when we can't talk about things? Don't give your kids an excuse to drown their thoughts with whatever is at their disposal. Give them the arts as an alternative to words. 

I end my little soap box spiel with a short video of a typical piano lesson I have with my daughter. Both my three and five year old love these lessons, and love music even more as a result. They often write their own songs, unafraid to tell their own stories through music, without the fear of it having to "sound right." 

http://youtu.be/65W7eFahye8

Hans Christian Anderson was right. Let their music or dance or art speak for them when their words cannot. Help them be heard.

Day 6: Be a cheerleader.

Day 6. Not even a week and I realize how difficult it is to be consistent in blogging. It didn't take long for me to skip a day (yesterday). And the hardest thing about coming up with things to write about is I'm not exactly sure the direction I want to take my blog. I'm sure I'm not the first blogger to experience this, but I am hoping that one of the things I gain in these 100 days of blogging is a sense of direction.

Well enough about myself. Today I would rather talk about something I'm passionate about, and that is children and the arts.

I recently read a disturbing article (http://fightthenewdrug.org/growing-up-fast-why-12-year-old-girls-are-having-sex-rougher-earlier/) of the realities that children grow up facing in the world today, particularly revolving around pornography and all the ways that it has influenced our children and adolescents in our current times, with technology being so accessible as it is. I spent a great deal of time digesting that article and discussing with my husband my thoughts on the matter.

Truth be told, there is definitely a part of me that wants to lock my doors and shut out that part of the world, but that is no way to live. I got to thinking, how do children grow up with the strength to say no to all these new drugs, addictions, and pressures all around them. 

My short answer is confidence, relationships, and a talent. Many children give into peer pressure because they don't believe in themselves and have low self-esteem. Often, it's because they lack the solid foundation of strong relationships with mothers, fathers, and other family/community members that help them define who they are rather than letting their peers define it for them, for better or for worse (usually for worse).

Finally, many kids grow up feeling like they lack a talent. They're not good at anything. They don't volunteer or get involved anywhere because they don't feel they can do it. All children are artists, until they tell themselves they're not, and give up trying. This usually happens around 3rd or 4th grade. 

While the arts won't solve all the worlds problems, I believe it is a bridge to helping children find the confidence they need to feel like they've got something special, something that's worth more that what the world is offering them, so much that they're willing to turn those things down. All those movies about kids choosing dance or music or art over gangs and drugs and such, these stories are based out of reality.

My husband teaches film to high school students, many coming out of the juvenile justice system. Through his class, he has had countless opportunities to talk with these students about life, and allowing them to tell their stories - often time giving them an opportunity to step back and see it at a distance to evaluate where they are and the choices they need to make to get to where they really want to go.

Parents, families, communities, I beseech you to find the children and teenagers that you have influence over. Build relationships with them. Encourage them. Help them find their talents and foster that. Don't let them give up on it. Remind them of their worth and remind them to let go of anyone or anything that will only bring them down. As my husband told me the other day. We all need a circle of cheerleaders in our lives. 

Be a cheerleader today.