Music

It's kind of amazing to see the impact music has on an uninhibited soul.  Or to wax a little less poetic, babies can have strong reactions to music, which I thoroughly enjoy watching.  I don't play music that is poignantly soulful while my baby is awake. (I made that mistake once, he was distressed by it and cried.)

I still can't get over how happy some songs make my son.  There have been times when he was in tears and stopped crying because of the music.  My son (age one and a half) will clap his hands and stomp his feet when I play the song "if you're happy and you know it".  And he will dance around to cha-cha music.  It seems like as long as the music has a strong up-tempo beat we can't go wrong.  It's a joyous thing to see a small child move to the beat of your favorite music.

One thing I've found works well to encourage a child who seems unsure if it's ok to move to the beat, is to join in and dance yourself.  Either dancing alongside your child or holding your child in your arms while you dance can brighten a little ones day as well as your own.

Classical music (depending on the song) can be a great way to calm things down.  Though it's good to pre-listen to classical music if you intend to incorporate it into your child's nap time routine.  Some arrangements may gain in volume or include cymbals which while lovely can startle a near-napping child back into a fully alert state.  And if that happens good luck getting them to go back to sleep.  As long as you keep it soothing you'll be fine, just don't assume that classical equals calm.

I find it is also useful to keep music playing when my son is asleep to help him stay that way.  That way the random household sounds don't disturb him.  Let me tell you, it's a lame time to have a sleeping baby awoken by a sneeze or a cough or the microwave or whatever.  Now music is by no means a fail safe.  Anything louder than the music could cause problems as far as keeping a small child in nap mode is concerned.