Dear Tunester,

 

Are you feeling like a turtle coming out of your isolated shell these days? Although we’ve been waiting for the world to open back up for a year now, peeking our heads out into the social world may not be as easy as we thought.

 

And what about your baby?

 

During this past year so many of you have wondered what effect social distancing will have on your baby’s social development (here’s a a post I wrote in answer to that question.)

 

Now that we’re heading out into the world a bit more, you may be wondering: How is my baby going to take it? Will they be overwhelmed? Excited? Scared?

 

Today’s blog is all about  a surprising way to get your baby back into the social groove. 

 

It all comes down to being in SYNC.

 

A fascinating study found when babies felt in sync with someone else it predicted social behavior like helping someone else having trouble.

 

Sound interesting? Here’s the experiment in the study:

 

Researcher A holds a baby (about 1 year old) in a carrier facing outward and dances to the rhythm of the music on the speakers. Researcher B stands in front of the baby. With some of the babies she bounces to the rhythm of the music, and with others she dances a bit faster or slower. 

 

After the dancing researcher B goes to play with the baby.

What happens next is the surprising part – 

 

During the play she drops something and pretends she can’t reach it. The babies who she had bounced in sync with were much more likely to help her and pick up the item she dropped.

 

What? Why? How does the dancing affect social behavior?

 

It turns out that being in sync with others rhythmically creates BONDS. It affects our attachment.

 

Wow! This is big news!

 

Being social, helping someone, feeling connected to someone, is not just a function of personality and experience, rather of FEELING IN SYNC with them.

 

This is good news for COVID babies.

 

After a year of feeling like your baby may not know how to connect with others – grandparents, friends, peers, teachers, here is a simple way to make it happen!

 

Not only that, this reserach study shows that being a good dancer helped with survival. Our prehistoric ancestors who could dance well with others and be in sync with them had an evolutionary advantage. Dancing helped them bond and communicate which made them more likely to be helped by the community. Which is why we’ve developed into a sprecies of good dancers (some better than others)

 

So dear parents, first of all, relax. Your baby is going socialize. In fact, they haven’t missed a beat 🙂

 

In addition, here are some ways you can use this info to step up the beat and inspire your baby’s connection with others:

 

1. Dance with the grandparents!

Your baby may have never met their grandparents in person. What better way to get them in sync and socialize through movement and not just through words and facial expressions than with dancing? Get that dance party started! The grandparents may appreciate it too.

 

2. Ramp up your mirroring!

Are you feeling out of sync with your baby? We all get consumed by work, family, friends, politics, or just scrolling sometimes. Next time you pick up your head and notice you’ve been on your own island try this out. Mirror your baby’s movements. Do what they do. Maybe turn on music to make it even more enjoyable. See if you both start to feel more in sync with each other.

 

3. Come to a Baby in Tune class!

We are about to start OUTDOOR IN-PERSON classes!!!! In NY that is. It’s the perfect place to dance and sing with other babies and feel a whole lot of in sync with each other.

Check out website to see the schedule. And if YOU’D like to host a class in your outdoor space, let us know! You’ll get the class for free.

You’re not in NY? No worries! I’m still doing remote classes. Come join us! Sing with us! Dance with us! Do our baby chat time. 

And today you can enter to win a full FREE semester. Go to my Instagram to find out how to enter.

 

As parents, we try so hard to teach our kids to be prosocial – to be kind, to help others. But the thing is, they are from the start.

All they need is to feel a little more in sync with each other so that they feel comfortable picking up someone’s toy when it falls down.

 

Are you taking baby steps to socialize your baby? COMMENT below and let us know what you’re doing.

 

Do you have a friend who needs to hear how easy it is to get your baby connecting with new friends? Send this to them!

 

Yes! Please send me the Tuesday Tune-In!