Teen Mother and Child Experiences in a Parent-Child Music Program

Abstract

In this paper, we outline the rationale and growing research base for parent-child music programs as a means to strengthen caregiver-child bonding, with particular interest in positively impacting the lives of adolescent mothers and their infants. Secondary schools that offer daycare and parenting classes are ideal sites for delivering parent-child music programs, and music educators are well situated to become involved in such initiatives. To illustrate, the findings of a pilot program implemented in a mid-size Canadian Prairie city are presented. Working with a local parent-child music instructor, Cree Elder and Métis singer-songwriter, an 8-week culturally responsive music program based on Kindermusik (2010) was designed and delivered to 13 young women and their infants. Data were collected using participant-observations; focus group interviews with the mothers and individual interviews with the parent-child music instructor, an Elder, and school staff; informal check-in interviews with most adolescent mothers; and video footage and photographs taken during the parent-child music program. The Listening Guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003) was used to analyze focus group interviews and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was utilized to elucidate the other data. Findings suggest that practical music-based interactions, which model and reinforce parenting skills through welcoming, informal, positive and culturally responsive activities, strengthened mother-infant connections, enhanced maternal wellbeing, and developed children’s social skills.