Never Too Young to Learn Classes Geared Toward Infants, Toddlers Gaining Popularity by Carolyn Cosmos There’s a new kind of baby boom abloom. Across the country and around the world, enrichment classes for tiny tots have become increasingly popular with parents. These courses are geared toward infants and toddlers and typically feature music and movement lessons, swimming or gym encounters, yoga for the youngest, and even sign language. “Using sign language with infants, including hearing infants, goes back 20 years, but it’s recently taken off. It’s hot right now,” said school psychologist and Kindermusik educator Joanne Finn of Pleasant Hill, Calif. In fact, according to a 2006 National Public Radio piece, teaching sign language to little people is a “growth industry,” and the demand for baby-signing videos has gone up a whopping 400 percent over the last few years. The international numbers are telling the same story: Kindermusik, one of the oldest and largest companies in the baby-enrichment movement, was started by several West German music teachers in the 1960s. It now licenses 5,000 music educators in 35 countries to teach under its banner. Other examples abound: Gymboree Play and Music program, for instance, provides enrichment classes for children from infancy through age 5. Started in 1976, it now has 500 franchise sites in 30 countries. Colorado-based Signing Smart, meanwhile, offers baby sign classes throughout the United States under the banner of Sign and Sing, Kindermusik International’s sign-language curriculum for parents with hearing children. And yoga classes for children are becoming increasingly common as well, according to Parenthood.com. Critics and Advocates With growth comes criticism. The movement has been charged with trying to over-program children, create “baby geniuses” through unproven techniques, and subvert playtime and personal space that kids need to become healthy adults. Responding to the critics, supporters of these tot programs say they serve rather than subvert young children’s needs and enhance rather than unravel family ties. They also note that classes are based on the research and wisdom of experts and provide experiences that are healthy and fun for parents and children alike. Washington, D.C.-based baby yoga instructor Anna Staton said the goal of yoga for infants is to “dedicate time and space for parent-child bonding, to create a tranquil hour in our sometimes chaotic lives.” Kindermusik similarly stresses that the parent is the child’s most important teacher. “It’s not about making little music geniuses out of babies,” said Beth Frook, a Kindermusik teacher in Maryland and Virginia. “The goal is to help children’s souls, brains and bodies develop in healthy ways and to teach parents how to interact with children. Music is a fantastic tool to do that.” What Experts Say Child development experts are cautiously positive about such classes. “I know of no direct scientific evaluation of the benefits of any of these programs,” said Nathan Fox, director of the Child Development Laboratory at the University of Maryland in College Park. However, Fox, who specializes in infant and child cognitive and social development, added that “providing opportunities for infants and their caregivers to interact around stimulating and enjoyable activities is a good thing. Providing stimulating environments for infants is beneficial not only for the infant, but also for the parents.” Similarly, the University of Michigan’s John W. Hagen told National Public Radio that baby sign-language classes are “one of many things known to be generally good” for children and may confer an advantage by giving the baby a boost emotionally or intellectually. But can music, for instance, really make you smarter? An article by E. Glenn Schellenberg published in December 2005 in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science gave mixed reviews. Listening to music, Schellenberg wrote, can improve a person’s intellectual performance by enhancing mood and motivation, but the effect is short term. However, he noted that “music lessons in childhood tell a different story. They are associated with small but general and long-lasting intellectual benefits.” Music and Movement for Youngest Music and movement classes for babies and toddlers are offered in the Washington area by a number of national and international programs that have local franchises or teacher-training and licensing arrangements. Most sites are in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, although Virginia’s Parent Child University offers a Kindermusik class at D.C.’s National Zoo. Kindermusik International is a global publisher of music and movement materials for teachers, parents and young children, including newborns. Not a franchise operation, it provides training and licensing to music educators who are then allowed to use the Kindermusik logo, name, curriculum and materials. It’s highly popular, with more than two dozen Kindermusik programs and solo instructors in the D.C. area alone. One Kindermusik educator is Beth Frook, owner and director of Little Hands Kindermusik based in Lake Ridge, Va. Frook employs nine Kindermusik instructors, including a stay-at-home dad, and offers classes in Alexandria, Fairfax, Manassas, McLean, Reston and five other Virginia locations, with plans for classes in Olney, Md., in the works. Weekly meetings are offered in sessions organized by age group, with the first Kindermusik level for newborns to 18 months and the second for those 18 months to 3 1/2 years old. Although session lengths can vary, a standard 15-week course costs $200 plus $65 for materials. The classes are for children accompanied by parents or other caregivers—grandparents, nannies, aunts and uncles—although most babies bring their moms to class. “Parents can develop friendships and social contacts, and it can keep them from being isolated, although our primary focus is to help parents enjoy their children,” Frook said. Next Page

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