Let’s revisit another question and see what you can learn from a psychological perspective.

As I mentioned yesterday, executive functions—such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control—play an essential role in regulating emotions, fostering communication, and developing problem-solving skills, all of which can contribute to improved parent-child relationships.

What I usually do before starting a session with a child or at the beginning of our therapy is to have a session with the parents as well (and if needed, I provide them with a questionnaire that helps me better understand their thoughts about their child). I also schedule regular meetings during therapy sessions to involve them. This is essential because, even though I am working with the child, the child is part of a system—the family. If something starts to change in the child, those changes will reflect in the family too. Therefore, it’s crucial to involve the parents in the therapy process in some way.

Now, let me give you some examples of activities and tips you can use during your sessions.

1. Encourage Collaborative Problem-Solving.
Goal: Strengthen the child’s sense of autonomy and the parent-child partnership. 
During therapy or class, engage in tasks that require both the child and the parent to collaborate. If the parent is not present, you can explain what you did at the end of the session so they can try to replicate it at home. For example, use activities that involve planning, organizing, or decision-making. This helps develop executive function skills such as cognitive flexibility and working memory. It also offers an opportunity for parents to model positive communication and cooperative behavior, which deepens the emotional bond.

2. Model Emotional Regulation and Self-Control.
Goal: Enhance emotional connection by helping the child and parent manage their emotions. 
As I mentioned yesterday, modeling is one of the most effective tools we have. Use activities or scenarios where both the child and parent need to practice controlling their impulses or managing frustration. This could involve taking turns, waiting for a response, or managing time constraints in a task. This strengthens inhibitory control, and when parents actively participate in such exercises, they learn how to respond empathetically to the child’s emotional needs, fostering a deeper understanding and bond.

3. Create Structured Routines.
Goal: Build consistency and trust. 
During therapy, I often establish routines that encourage joint activities, such as reading a story together, drawing what we’re reading, discussing it, or solving puzzles or playing board games. I typically record videos to show parents how I conduct the activities, but I don’t expect them to replicate everything exactly at first. My goal is to establish the right relationship and routine so that the child will be ready to practice these activities at home. By helping both the child and parent build structured routines, you promote working memory (remembering steps, following sequences) and planning. These predictable, shared experiences can enhance feelings of security and mutual trust.

4. Use Reflection and Communication Techniques to Develop Understanding and Empathy. I like to incorporate reflective listening and open-ended questions during therapy sessions. I ask the child and parent to express how they felt about a shared experience and encourage them to reflect on their actions and emotions. This helps develop cognitive flexibility and social understanding, which are crucial for emotional bonding. For example, after a task or activity, ask questions like, “How did that make you feel?” or “What do you think we could do next time to make it easier?” These questions encourage both parties to think critically and enhance their connection through meaningful conversations.

5. Co-regulation of Emotions.
Goal: Improve emotional intelligence and responsiveness. 
This point is particularly important for parents. It’s essential to teach them techniques for co-regulation, where they help the child regulate their emotions in challenging situations. This might involve strategies like deep breathing, counting, or taking breaks. Co-regulation is directly tied to the development of executive functions, such as emotional control and attention. By practicing these techniques together, both parent and child create a shared sense of emotional understanding and connection.

Remember to always be flexible and adapt your interactions with the entire family. And last, but not least, have fun! 

From a psychological and child development perspective, open-ended musical play fosters executive functions (that now you must know which ones are) in several ways:

1. Attention and Focus: how musical play encourages sustained attention? Engaging with music, whether through playing instruments, singing, following the leader and so on, requires children to focus on the task at hand, which can improve their ability to sustain attention over time.
The varied rhythms, melodies, and sounds in musical play can also capture and maintain attention, helping children practice focusing on one activity or goal amidst possible distractions.

2. Inhibition Control. Here we speak about self-regulation through turn-taking (don’t forget what we say the first day regarding this) and rhythm. In musical play, children often practice waiting their turn (e.g., when using an instrument in a group), which enhances impulse control. In some musical games, children must wait for specific cues or signals before responding, fostering their ability to inhibit premature actions.
Furthermore, we also have musical structure and rule-following: many musical activities involve rules or patterns that require children to inhibit automatic or impulsive responses. For instance, playing in time with a rhythm or melody encourages children to follow a set pattern of movement or sound, promoting cognitive restraint.

3. Working Memory and memory challenges in musical tasks. Many musical activities require children to remember patterns, sequences, or lyrics. For example, improvising on a song or remembering and repeating rhythmic patterns or lyrics strengthens their working memory.
Plus, we can also work on sequencing. In fact, musical play often involves sequencing events, such as playing specific notes in order, or following a structured pattern. This strengthens both short-term and long-term memory processes.

4. Cognitive Flexibility and Adaptability in improvisation. Open-ended musical play often allows children to improvise and explore music in a non-linear way. This fosters cognitive flexibility, as children must adjust to new patterns, sounds, and variations that emerge during their musical exploration.
This can often lead to the ability of transitioning between roles. If a child is engaging in musical play with others, he may take turns being the leader or following different parts in a song. This flexibility in roles encourages the development of adaptive thinking, as children shift between different cognitive demands and social interactions.

5. Problem Solving. This can be achieved with creativity. Open-ended musical activities encourage children to solve problems in a creative and non-structured way. Whether they’re deciding how to use a new instrument, choosing a sound, or creating their own rhythm, these activities foster problem-solving skills that require planning, evaluation, and adjustment.

 Obviously this can led to different trial and error. As children explore different ways to create or organize sounds, they learn to make decisions, evaluate outcomes, and adjust strategies, which enhances their cognitive flexibility and executive functioning.

6. Emotional Regulation (my favorite). Expression and self-awareness. These open-ended musical play provides a safe space for children to express their emotions through music, which can also support emotional regulation. As children explore sounds and rhythms, they learn to connect their emotional experiences with the music they create, fostering both emotional awareness and self-regulation.

When done in group settings, musical play can help children develop social skills like cooperation, empathy, and communication. These skills are key components of executive functioning, particularly in managing interpersonal relationships.

Child Development Perspective

From a developmental psychology point of view, open-ended musical play aligns with the natural learning processes of children. It promotes intrinsic motivation, encourages exploration, and supports the development of a variety of cognitive and emotional skills in an integrated, holistic way. Play-based activities, particularly those that involve music, tap into children’s creativity, helping them develop complex cognitive skills while also enjoying the process of discovery.

As I said yesterday, always remember to have fun! When learning is framed as a fun and creative activity, as is often the case in open-ended musical play, it becomes a powerful tool for supporting the development of executive functions. Fun allows children to approach tasks with enthusiasm and curiosity, making them more engaged, motivated, and willing to take cognitive risks.

By using music as an engaging and enjoyable medium, educators can foster not only the development of essential executive skills but also a love for learning itself. Thus, teaching through fun with open-ended musical play is an effective and enriching approach to child development, where cognitive, emotional, and social growth happens in tandem with creative expression.

I hope that you have found these 3 days helpful and can’t wait to see you all!