Baby music class … do I have to?
There I was, a new mum of a 7 week old baby who managed to drag herself and her cranky, refluxy baby to mothers’ group. I was hoping to connect with other mums who were in the middle of this seemingly never-ending torture of lack of sleep, constant self-doubting and a general vibe of ‘what just happened to my life??’
Ready to launch into deep and meaningful chats with my fellow mummy-folk, I was taken aback when the convenor chirpily announced that today we would be having a sample music lesson. Before I had time to put my milk-dispensing body part back in its bra, an insanely cheerful man with a guitar came bursting into the room. He started strumming as he introduced himself. “Goooood morning, gooood morning, it’s time to sing some songs!” Cue my internal eye-roll. The man told us he would give us a sample of his company’s baby music classes.
As the 7 week old babies tried to sleep in their prams, the Insanely Cheerful Man started pulling animals out of a plastic farmhouse. “What noise does the cow make everyone??” “Moooooo” the other mothers exclaimed enthusiastically. At this point I felt like I had to get out. I scanned the room looking for a sympathetic eye-roll and most importantly, the door. However, it was clear that I was alone in my cynical bubble.
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After further rounds of singing and shaking maracas together, the Insanely Cheerful Man announced that a group of 10 classes could be purchased for $250 … only $25 per class. What more, if you joined a trial of 3 classes, you would receive a free egg-shaker and piece of sequinned fabric (ohh a whole $2 worth of value!) I laughed to myself internally and mentally classified all parents enrolling in baby music classes as having more money than sense.
But then came the hard sell. “Did you know that baby music classes are proven to increase language skills, emotional resilience and test scores for years to come?” Ouch… right in the mum-guilt.
If all these singing mummies enrolled their babies in the baby music class and my baby missed out, would I be doing her a great disservice? I went home feeling anxious, wondering if my cynicism was damaging our child.
You see, the problem with baby music classes (and other baby classes for that matter) is that they are a business. They will play on guilt and the strong desire of every parent to give their child the best start to life. Their interest lies in enrolling as many people as possible, not providing the best information to parents. Yes, playing music and shaking egg-shakers probably does help with baby development. Yes, smiling at babies as you sing songs has a positive effect. But the key here is that you can do ALL of these tasks yourself. And arguably, isn’t it better if you are the person sitting face to face with your child sharing in their delight, going at their pace?
I do think there is a place for baby music classes, but the place is more for the parents. Do you prefer to have a structured activity to get you out of the house on a particular day of the week? Do you want an opportunity to meet other parents? Then the baby music class will offer those things. Having said that, there are plenty of free activities that also offer those benefits. So I’ve decided to wind back my cynic and not judge those who partake in those classes — you do you. However, I’ll be purchasing my own $2 egg-shakers and dancing up a storm at home. As for the other $23 … that’s 5 coffees, and I’ll use those to match the Insanely Happy Man’s energy levels!
