Mental Health and Music in the Early Years

While broadly the same, mental health looks a little different at different stages of life. In the early years, infant and early childhood mental health looks at a child’s ability to regulate their emotions, form secure relationships and explore environments. Post lockdown, the increase in demand for mental health services has increased to critical levels. Specialists are now demanding more funding to cope with the strain in resources. What can we do to support children and families stuck in cycles of unending waiting lists? A study by Kaminski et al (2022)has some ideas.

From countless child studies, we know that children respond positively to stable relationships where their needs are met. After all, children rely on the people around them for their entire existence. Through their important people, children learn the best ways to stay safe, interact with others, and ultimately, how to become responsible for themselves. We now know that these early experiences also lay the foundations for their future physical and mental health.

Science shows increasingly that the development of the brain is established during the early years. Thinking patterns, habits, tendencies, interests and more begin and develop through repeated interactions. Repeated words and sayings, family stories and traditions become part of our personality at a stage that few of us even remember. This amazingly impacts not only our thinking but our lifelong metabolism and immune system, too.

Even children in negative and poor or abusive situations recognise the injustice they experience. By providing a positive experience, we create an opportunity to break negative cycles, just by seeing each child as special, and showing that we recognise their value. Using techniques of nurturing interactions like positive feedback, consistent discipline, warmth, and sensitive emotional responses, we recognise their humanity. This allows children to regulate the effects from negative stressors, including racism and poverty.

The Kaminski study considered a number of interventions that have been used with preschool communities, often with a family focus because of the importance of relationships in the early years. In each case of the successful interventions, they discovered that the focus was on changing knowledge, attitudes, emotions, behaviours, or relationships. No studies including fathers were eligible for inclusion, showing a clear gap in provision.

The take-away appears to be that experiences that allow us to recognise children as individuals are valuable. Giving children the opportunity to make their own contribution to the activity helps to do this. Songs and games that allow children to practice caring family behaviours are also supportive. Activities where children have a brief turn at following the leader also helps to create self-confidence in taking responsibility. Below are a few songs that may be used towards establishing good early years mental health.

Hello Song

Hello friends, how are you
Hello friends, who’s sitting next to you?

This quick hello song is great for registration and could even be used to sing goodbye at the end of the day. It allows for children to acknowledge each other, learn how to say each other’s names and build relationship. One way to reduce embarrassment about being “on show” would be to pass around a toy or an object to tap – redirecting the individual focus.