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Uncommon Sense

Respecting Your Child's "Aural Space"

One of the challenges of parenting is finding space for all of your child’s belongings.  It can also be a challenge to provide “Aural Space”—the silence your child needs to “play with aural toys.”  A little child is literally on the same wavelength as the music.  Any noise becomes “static” to the “signal” and competes for the child’s attention.  Adults are not attuned to rhythm and tonal as little children are, and can easily tune out music activities and talk over them, interrupting the aural as blatantly as walking in front of a television interrupts the visual.  A little child cannot say, “Shhhhhhhhhh, I’m listening to this,” or “Listen to this. Isn’t it great?”  We must become the child’s advocate with well-meaning loved ones who talk during music activities.  Disregarding the child’s need for quiet space with music activities sends a message that what the child is attending to is not important, and teaches that child to ignore the wonder of his own musical mind.  Perhaps we would not be so deaf to what little children hear in music if our musical needs had been met as little ones.  Let us respect the young child’s deep sensitivity to rhythm and tonal and provide the “Aural Space” needed to preserve it. 

 

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