When to move from the bubs to the toddlers group

Boppin’ Babies offers age specifc babies toddlers music groups. In this blog Miss Vicky provides a guide for parents on when to move their little bopper from a Boppin’ Babies to a Rockin’ Tots music group.

At Boppin’ Babies we believe you should decide what group is best for you and your bopper.

We offer age specific groups and combo groups, at different times of day so that you have the maximum amount of choice.

Is your child developmentally ready?

Many of our little boppers start when they are babies, and their parents will ask me when is it a good time to move up to the toddler group.

We don’t just move babies up because they turn one; we move them to the next group when they are showing signs that developmentally they are ready.

We also need to make sure their sleep patterns are ready for the big change too.

Our baby group is a special nurturing time for both you and your bub. It is very gentle, with lots of cuddles and shared music making moments.

The baby group is also multi-modal in approach as there is a greater focus on you and your bub sharing the musical experience together and exploring the various sensory experiences one at a time.

Move baby move

Then one day, your bubba starts moving! A milestone – HOORAY. Often they will crawl out to choose an instrument and then return to you.

You are still the centre of their universe.

They will pick up the instrument and play symmetrically (two hands at the same time) and look to you for encouragement and reward.

They will start to take notice of the group leader when they play anticipation games (stop/start) and continue to bop along to the music, moving their whole upper body while sitting on the floor.

Your baby is growing up!

Then one day, another milestone, your baby crawls over to another baby to see what they are doing, they take an interest in them (and more specifically their instrument!).

They also might stand with help, or on their own, and start moving their whole body to the music.

When seated, they might pick up the shakers and play them bi-laterally (one hand and then the other) and this is when we know they are ready to move up to the toddler group.

Getting social and exploring? It’s time to move

When bubs start to move with purpose, usually around the age of one, and take an interest in other children socially as well as start to explore their sensory environment more on their own, we move them to the Rockin’ Tots group.

All our groups have a similar therapeutic structure, so the children who have been attending continue to know what to expect even in this new age group.

At our Rockin’ Tots groups there is a much greater focus on getting our groove on and moving to music.

We incorporate movement that requires greater coordination, engaging and attending skills, as well as the Bop Along Buddies and therapy balls.

Let’s break out the instruments

We also introduce age and developmentally appropriate musical instruments, such as mallets to play the drum, clave sticks, glockenspiels and shakers that require eye-hand coordination and bi-lateral hand control to master.

We also break out the ukuleles to jam on every now and then!

But remember, young toddlers want to move their whole body, so sitting to play the uke can be tricky.

They will want to stand and play.

This is both challenging for them and nerve wracking for you (you worry they will drop it!) and potentially dangerous to their friends (when they try and dance around while swinging the uke).

So ukulele use in this group is carefully guided so that it is age and developmentally appropriate.

Tots still have quiet time, with the focus on learning to co-regulate emotions.

In the bubs group the focus was on you regulating. Now the focus is on sharing the quiet time together. We are moving towards them understanding their own emotions and how they feel.

Just remember, this is a guide only. If you have any questions call us for a chat. You can also join us for a trial to see which group is the best fit for your family.

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