Crib song: Insights into functions of toddlers’ private spontaneous singing

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate, describe and understand the developmental function (musical and social/emotional) of nine toddlers' private spontaneous songs. Between the initial interviews with the eight families and follow-up interviews 5 to 6 weeks later, parents observed their child at home twice a week for 4 consecutive weeks. When the child was alone at bedtime, the parents stood outside the bedroom door and completed a written Parent's Observation and Reflection Form (PORF) describing and contextualizing what they heard on a minute-by-minute basis for the first 15 minutes of each session. Additionally, the parents collected audio recordings of the eight sessions using a smartphone that they placed inside the child's room. Data sources included transcripts from family interviews, field notes, PORFs, and audio recordings. Findings suggest that many of the toddlers used solitary spontaneous singing at bedtime as a way to demonstrate and practice musical skill, reflect, experiment, self-soothe, and understand their own worlds. Spontaneous singing functioned to support these adaptive strategies during this intense developmental period. Further research is needed to understand the conditions and varieties of toddlers' private spontaneous crib song.

Spontaneous singing in early childhood: An examination of young children’s singing at home

“…One of the key reasons for the limited number of studies exploring children's musical home lives is the difficulty of accessing private homes. While recent technological advances have improved access to the home environment (Costa-Giomi & Benetti, 2017;Mendoza, 2018;Sole, 2017), most earlier research has collected data through parental reporting, either in the form of diaries or interviews. Parental reporting methods can provide rich qualitative data (e.g., Barrett, 2011Barrett, , 2016; however, there are potential difficulties with this approach when examining the extent of children's singing at home.…”

“…Singing at home can be part of solitary, parallel, or social play (Barrett, 2016). As well as singing songs they have learnt, young children improvise their own songs and adapt songs they know for their own purposes (Barrett, 2011;Custodero, 2006;Sole, 2017). At home, young children frequently sing (and move) along with recorded music (Young & Gillen, 2007).…”

Moving towards music: Viewing early years musical engagement through the lenses of movement, interaction, motivation, agency, identity and context

“…The actions, interactions, and sense of agency developed through early years music making provide infants with a sense of trust about the people around them. Early childhood (ages 1.5 to 3 years) is characterised by the development of autonomy and purpose, as illustrated well by the work on emotional self-management in crib song by Sole (2017) discussed earlier. Barrett's (2016) analysis of 2-year-old Cara's music-making in a range of home settings shows how young children can explore different musical roles and trial their own musical identities as singer, composer, and performer.…”

Music education through the lens of ITERS-R: Discussing results from 206 toddler day care groups

“…Bjørkvold, 1981; P. S. Campbell, 1998; Malloch & Trevarthen, 2009a; Sole, 2016; Welch, 2006). However, in a relational perspective, one might expect more (and earlier) emphasis on the quality of interactions where staff encourage, support and encounter children’s musical actions.…”