Metal Mummy

When I received Tunes 4 Toddler Tantrums a couple of months ago, I was a bit dubious. A CD of songs that could help to distract my kid from having a tantrum? A nuclear blast couldn’t help distract my kid from having a tantrum, never mind a little jingle. To be perfectly honest, although I had the CD sent to me back in November, I haven’t had chance to even listen to it until recently. Seriously, my time keeping is proving to be awful lately.

Anyway, the other day, I bunged it into the CD player. When I say I, I mean James. We just wanted to have a listen to the songs to see what was being sung about. I love the repetition and the animals in the songs. They really are engaging, and Freyja said “Wow” as soon as we pressed play – Lovely upbeat little jingles about the various processes you have to do during the day, from brushing your teeth, to putting your shoes on. Freyja loved it, and was dancing around the living room with her Baby Annabell, swinging her around by the arms and giggling her face off. That is definitely a sign of approval.

As for distracting from tantrums? I understand the concept. I see that singing a happy song whilst encouraging your child to brush their teeth will work. I do. I can just see myself singing along to a lovely ditty whilst waltzing around the bathroom with a toothbrush in my hand. The only problem I have is, will a CD player always be there ready for that exact moment when a tantrum kicks in? Or will I have to run from one end of the house to the other, finding the CD and plugging in the CD player. By which time, my bathrooms covered in spearmint, Freyja’s nutted the radiator mid-strop and I’ve gone slightly more grey. I’m not sure. I’m not sure if I have the forethought enough to utilise the CD to its’ best ability. I’m not smart enough to plan in advance and get the CD player ready to play just in case we’ll need it. I know we could just set it up and press play everytime I go to brush her hair, or change her nappy – but will I actually do that?! That’s not a fault of the CD though – that’s a fault of mine. I’m not organised enough and I’m a bit lazy.

However, I do love the songs. I think the composer, Vicky Arlidge, has done a fabulous job at creating songs that children will love. Freyja loves them, and even if it’s a CD to pop on and listen to and dance around to, then that’s good enough for us. It’s our first CD of that nature, and it’s gone down a treat with her. The good thing for me is they are really catchy tunes that I actually like – something I can’t say very often when it comes to kid’s songs (apart from Timmy Time, that’s fabulous). I think I’ll have more use for its’ aversion potential if I actually learn the songs – that way, I won’t need the forethought of having the CD player handy – I can just annoy her with my ridiculous voices and silly faces. That should work.