Benvenuto, everyone!
So, I’ve spent the last several weeks, amid trying to get my academic life back in order, taking care of my sister’s 2-year-old while my sister works from home. My partner and I have taken on this stir-crazy toddler together, and we’ve learned several things from our experience.
One thing we’ve learned is that we don’t want to be parents. We love my niece, but it is nice to hand her back to her parents at the end of the day. This, however, has very little to do with my blog. I have actually learned some relevant things, too.
Voices develop a lot slower than I ever imagined. I have sung the entire soundtrack of Frozen and Baby Shark more times than I can count, and Eloise (my niece) knows every word of every song. However, it seems like she has some trouble matching pitch.
I did some research on this, actually. My whole family is very musically inclined, so her models are excellent, but she still can’t quite get the pitch right. I feel like I remember kids her age holding a tune pretty well, but perhaps my memory is a little hazy.
It’s pretty normal for a 2-year-old to sing in tune some of the time. Eloise hits some notes, but most of the time she’s pretty off-key. Over the next few years, however, we’ll see a dramatic change in her musical ability. These years are so formative for her voice, and she certainly has all the right people teaching her.
Another thing I noticed is that she doesn’t misgender Wiley. Of course, her parents have taught her well, but it goes to show how much it matters to teach children how to treat people. Exposing children to a whole variety of different people is so important because it trains our youngest generation that people are people.
Wiley is particularly pleased with our interaction because they don’t feel pressured by the social pressures that adults put on them. Eloise loves them like only a 2-year-old can, and that has no restrictions of gender, sexuality, or identity. If this is what the new generation is growing to be, I feel hopeful for the future. Don’t forget to love each other!
Keep your hands clean and cantare!
