Mothers use the benefits of song to promote infant development

Professor Shannon de l'Etoile knows the impact of a mother's lullaby. As a young music therapist in Colorado, de l'Etoile saw that when disadvantaged mothers were encouraged to sing to their babies, they were amazed by the positive responses they received. She quickly realized that music could be a powerful tool to help mothers learn more about their infants and to build a relationship with their new child. Soon, de l'Etoile began researching the practice, called infant-directed singing, and learned its wide range of returns. Chief among them, infant-directed singing helps babies learn to regulate their emotions, which allows them to later navigate socialization, school, and the professional world, according to de l'Etoile, who has spent her career studying the habit. "If a mother can sing in a way that captures the infant's attention, it can help them tap into those brain structures that they need to develop for self-regulation,” said de l'Etoile, a board-certified music therapist and associate dean of graduate studies at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Yet, while singing to infants is something most mothers do naturally-without even realizing the benefits-for those in difficult circumstances, infant-directed singing may not be as instinctive, de l'Etoile observed.