Watch.... Elmo... Happy.... Good......Night Night

With most families, one develops rituals. The routine that gets developed with children...that very routine that gives them structure and keeps parents sane. One of the routines that I find ourselves doing on a nightly basis was watching you tube. Why You Tube? Because for one thing, Phoebe loves watching the musical performances of Wicked, and secondly, because the computer is in her room and it is the easiest way to have her view it right before bed.

Now I know it sounds a little crazy that we watch something before bed time, but I have come to realize that there is some real benefit from it. For one thing, it is time for who ever is putting the child to sleep, to bond with them. You get to really know their likes, dislikes, and see how they interact with the music. I personally only use music because that is what Phoebe enjoys, but I suppose it could be most anything. With music I have found that it adds that extra sensory element, hearing plus seeing, to help make it more memorable for the child. So then, when we take Phoebe on the road, in a car that does not have a video player, I can play the same music and I can tell she is watching the video in her head as she hears the music. The most rewarding part is listening to her sing along, and actually hitting some of the notes. It is just pure pleasure to hear her interact with the music.

Another great benefit of having her watch the videos is it helps to just calm her down and get in a more sedated state before bed time. Before Phoebe heads off to bed, she is asked to give hugs and kisses to all the family members. Then she gets a little excited and wants to start jumping on Grandma's bed. Finally we get her to her room where she often times just wants to play some more, but the offer to watch gets her to run to her room in anticipation of seeing her favorite videos of that day.

Speaking of favorite videos, "Watch" is what she says when she wants to watch You Tube. Elmo is pretty self explanatory. Actually, I have found the Elmo sing songs from Sesame Street to be just awesome. They have some of the best singers singing along with Elmo. Phoebe's favorites are Norah Jones and of course, Andrea Bocceli who sings a wonderful Elmo version of "Time to Say Goodnight". And finally, we have the Wicked Musical songs that Phoebe has come to really enjoy, "For Good" and "Defying Gravity", which she calls Happy because that is the one word she remembers from the song the most.

After a good two songs, with letting her know before the final song that after that song it is night night time, we close down the window and it is off to bed. In the inital stages, she wanted more, saying "More, More, More, More.." and vigorously showing the hand signal for more. Nonetheless, hold firm to the word of the last song and then it was off to bed for her. A little protest to be expected, but after a few weeks, it'll be routine.