Expert secrets to raising "great kids"

Here's an excerpt from an exclusive interview by USA Weekend on the topic of music and its role in "raising great kids" (September 23, 2007). Kindermusik families who play and make music with their children in class and at home know the benefits of early music education but it's simply wonderful and re-affirming to hear it again and again, and again! Big thanks to Kindermusik educator Carol in Maryland for sharing.

"USA WEEKEND: Dr. Greenspan, what role can music play in raising "great" kids?

Greenspan: Great kids have a number of qualities, including empathy, creativity, emotional range, and a sense of morality and caring about others. It begins with that engagement, that rhythm between the baby and the caregiver -- often the mommy -- in the first year of life. Then it blossoms in the second and third years with more complex social interactions. When language comes in, they can give voice to what it means to be happy or sad. So a song like Laurie's helps them understand what a happy feeling or a sad feeling is. You'll see it in their doll play or action-figure play. This helps them with empathy and creativity. If they're going to be great novelists or write songs or perform, they have got to understand the feelings of others.

Berkner: It's so great to hear you say it that way. When I wrote "The Story of My Feelings," I was having a fight with a friend and wrote it to help me get in touch with my feelings. So actually, it was a completely self-centered act! I wrote the song a long time ago about how I feel better after I express myself, which is true. But now, I might have written it a little differently, because it also feels good to be expressing myself, not just afterward. But in hindsight, I do see that, "Yeah, the song can really help kids connect with their feelings."

USA WEEKEND: Both of you make the case for learning through music, dance and creative play. Why?

Greenspan: When you move, you experience more fully. The more coordinated you become, the more you're able to enjoy movement. It enforces the creativity of using your body, whether through dance or music. But now there's a movement toward more impersonal forms of communication, from rote learning in education to parents being told to use flashcards rather than creative play with their kids to the overuse of text messages or hours of isolated self-absorption rather than being with real people.

Berkner: I think kids who are sitting at a computer are missing the physical component that they get through music and dancing. When they're watching television, there's at least a possibility they'll get up and dance and let feelings come out. Think about "jumping for joy" -- it's the way we talk about our feelings sometimes. All of that seems to be so connected to being able to express ourselves."

Stanley Greenspan is a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical Center who is also an author of a new book Great Kids: Helping Your Baby and Child Develop the 10 Essential Qualities for a Healthy, Happy Life.

Laurie Berkner is a popular musician and song writer also known as "the pixie Pied Piper of kid rock" who recently authored a children's book & accompanying CD: The Story of My Feelings.

Here's the full interview! Enjoy: Expert secrets to raising "great kids."