C

elebrating holidays is all about fun and connection, right? 

Let’s face it, with all the stress of trying to make everything perfect, schedules being off, different foods, guests in the house, or traveling, sometimes “happy” isn’t the only emotion going on.

For littles, it can be an even bigger deal when other emotions hijack the fun, because they’re not sure how to handle big feelings yet.

Here’s something you can do to help!

Have a musical jam session where all of the emotions are invited to play!

baby playing piano with dad
  • This is important: Do this at a time when emotions are feeling pretty stable and neutral.
  • Talk with your littles about all the kinds of feelings that might exist
    • happy
    • sad
    • frustrated
    • anxious
    • goofy
    • embarrassed
    • fill in the blank
  • Color some pictures to depict the different emotions
  • Play random things on the piano, and importantly, let your child play anything that comes to mind, with no judgment of right or wrong.
  • Let your child choose the picture that depicts the mood they want to reflect in their playing 
  • You play, expressing different moods, and let your child choose the picture that they think matches the mood you’re expressing. Again, no right or wrong.

Musical expression is one of the best ways I know to process emotions. Giving your child tools like this before the big waves of emotion hit, will allow them to use music creation to process all the big feels when they do come.

I really do hope your holidays are wonderful, and filled with love and connection.

As always, Have So Much Fun!!

I’d love to hear from you! Have you tried using music making as a way to process your own emotions? Have you given this method a try with your littles? How did it go?

leave your comments below…