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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

A budding Pavarotti?...

17 replies

paradise · 13/05/2004 20:24

This may sound silly, but my DS (2.5yrs old)is driving me crazy with his constant singing or humming of tunes - whilst he's playing or trying to get to sleep! Anything from Cbeebies or nursery rhymes our his favourites.Has anyone else experienced this from their little angels?

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Chinchilla · 13/05/2004 20:31

Yup. At the risk of sounding competitive (), my ds has been singing recognisable tunes for ages, before he could even talk. It has always AMAZED me. I am quick to pick songs up too, so maybe he got it from me. Good job he didn't get his Dad's voice and memory for a tune!!!

Original poster

paradise · 13/05/2004 20:39

Chincilla

Nice to hear my DS is not alone, I blame T.V!! and no your not sounding competitive, just sometimes I really want to say to him ' put a sock in it'!!!!

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Jimjams · 13/05/2004 20:41

Yep ds1 all the time. Can't talk (age 5) but sings perfectly in tune - and has done from 15 months (as he stopped talking he started singing). I didn't realise this was unusual (he was my 1st) until I saw the pathetic attempts ds2 makes a singing (now 2 and a half) Used to sing twinkle when he saw a star - now just sings everything and anything- only has to hear it once. often sings old macdonald when he's cross from some reason. Sang Alex Parks for quite a long time- which I did enjoy. Also sings the Cranberries which dh complains about (as he says a 5 year old shouldn't be singing about bombs in Ireland). His SALT asked me a few weeks ago if I knew he had perfect pitch.

Sorry not bragging- my son has very severe learning difficulties- singing is the one thing he can do. We are hoping that one day he will be able to learn an instrument, as it would be something constructive for him. May well never happen though.

Janh · 13/05/2004 20:52

jimjams, when you say singing, presumably he doesn't sing words? Or can he reproduce them even though he can't talk? (I'm intrigued!)

Has he met a piano yet?

Original poster

paradise · 13/05/2004 20:55

Jimjams

Thats so sweet that your DS1 sings The Cranberries, good taste I think!!
I must admit you've got me thinking about my DS and possible links with autism, I posted about a week ago with my concerns see ('Is this normal' 6th May)anyway I don't think I 'll go down that road again, as I think I was beginning to get paranoid about it!

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Jimjams · 13/05/2004 21:44

ROFL Janh- no, no words- just humming perfectly in tune. He can kind of "form" an apporximation of the words, but would tend to do that in a fill in the blanks type game (so I would sing "1, 2, 3, 4 and he would sing "dai" He remembers rhymes as well- but all in vowels- so he knows the whole of "hands hands fingers thumb" (a wonderful book)- and will say it to himself - but its kind of "an an ee-ah- un" . He loves music- aparently enjoys the singing sessions when the whole school goes into the hall to sing. I get confused with the sides of the brain- but I think its anything left brained he's excellent at (pitch, music, letters etc) and anything right brained (speech!) he doesn't do at all. I know that the brain isn't really quite as localised as that (although it is more so in boys)- but it does seem to be like that with him.

it isn't that unusual for autistic kids to be good at music, but plenty of normal kids are as well (more in fact!) The Thomas Sowell books "late talking children" and (i think) "the ei
nsten syndrome- mbright children who talk late" go inot this in more detail. In some ways ds1 is quite like the children in that book- and he himself says that autistic children are just an extreme form of the group he has identified. Intersting reading anyway.

Bron · 13/05/2004 21:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Jimjams · 13/05/2004 21:50

Just re-read your previous thread paradise. Nothing particualr rings any alarm bells with me.

One thing that has occured to me though is that children who are hypersenitive (or sometimes hyposensitive) can be agressive about space etc (and I guess can sing well). You might want to have a browse through "The out of synch child" by Carol Stock someone or other (its paperback) and see if it fits. Or look up sensory integration disorder. I always think its worth looking at if you have a child who has some issues which are minor- but worrying. Also sensory programmes are easy to set up and fairly easy to do- and really help.

Jimjams · 13/05/2004 21:51

worrying to you I mean- don't want you to think I'm saying they're worrying!

Jimjams · 13/05/2004 22:01

oh piano janh- yes he likes it but just bashes away in a refreshingly "normal" way! Being able to learn an instrument would help his dyspraxia as well- but he won't let me hold his hand over the piano keys to punch put a tune (mind you our piano is so out of tune he probablty wouldn't recognise it).

Janh · 13/05/2004 22:16

jimjams, if you played a simple tune while he was paying attention might he copy it? Like twinkle twinkle or something?

baldrick · 13/05/2004 22:24

paradise, daft question...does it bother you?...yes it is quite young....maybe he is musical and likes to express this often(like children who love drawing etc. draw a lot)....in my experience singing is a great way to express yourself and is no bad thing....dd does it a lot and has a lovely voice...(btw if am on own at work after a while I sing (runs in the family)....can you ask him if he likes singing?

Original poster

paradise · 13/05/2004 22:50

jimjams

thanks so much for your advice, will look up re: sensory issues.
My DS was born 6 weeks prem, and I think i'm guilty of always worrying that he may have development problems because of being born early iyswim . Anyway thanks again for your thoughts.

Baldrick
it doesn't really bother me... just thought he should be talking more whilst playing, rather than singing, and i'm sure if i ask him if he likes singing, he'll say yes, he's a happy boy most of the time.

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toddlerbob · 14/05/2004 02:12

I used to do music with adults with learning disabilities. I apologise if there is now a more correct term, but's that what it was at the time. I had two clients with no speech at all, who would both sing. One would sing "da, da, da" and the other actually sang words, he could ask for a cup of coffee if you wrote a song for him to sing. I had another who would sing and speak, but only swear words. My Great Aunt had a stroke and never spoke again, but could sing hymns at my grandad's funeral. Sorry a little off topic.

Fio2 · 14/05/2004 08:29

how strange about the singing thing. My dd , global development delays, seems to sing much better and have perfect memory for songs and tunes rather than speech. She sings actual words and the tune is so right...how weird. She is only at the single word, two word stage in speech but can resite a whole rhymme. I never thought about that before.

Mind you ds 2 1/2 is great at rhymmes and singing too

Jimjams · 14/05/2004 10:52

It's the paying attention bit that's a problem Janh Also he can't copy as such (although I guess he does copy songs....)

toddlerbob the swearing thing is quite common- it's becuase swear words are reflex apparently- and so a produced from a different part of the brain.....

aloha · 14/05/2004 14:55

My son sings nicely too and sings a lot. He wakes up singing often and I think it's lovely (though admittedly, lovelier at 7am than 5am )
He also likes to play the piano - not as in play tunes or anything, but just plinks plinks and then says, "That was seahorse music' or something equally cryptic. He's been doing it for ages and ages now, and is three in Sept. He also loves poems and rhymes. I sing v v badly so don't know where it comes from.

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