Your Diaper Bag Song: The One Song That Goes Everywhere With You

Last week I published a profile of the Glidden family. Jacquelyn has been bringing her daughters to class since her oldest, Juliette, was three months old. One of the songs she mentioned was "There's a Little Wheel."

It had been Dorothy's song from the very beginning. Jacquelyn would sing it in the rocking chair and change the words to match whatever was happening: "there's a little baby rocking in my lap, there's a little baby getting a new diaper, there's a little baby waiting on her milk." Some nights it became a lullaby. She would hold Dorothy and sing about the act of holding her, about how much she loved her, changing the words in real time to describe the moment they were sharing.

It means so much to us teachers when an idea we use in class makes it home. When I read that, I thought: Ms. Lisa, Ms. Deborah and Mr. Steve are going to be so excited when they see that one of their families used a song in this way at home.

What's a diaper bag song?

Our teachers use this term for a song that works the way a well-packed diaper bag does. It goes everywhere with you. It adapts to whatever situation you're in. It's ready when you need it.

One of the greatest challenges parents face is transitions. We know that it's time to move to the next thing. Convincing our young children that it's time is very hard for them. A good diaper bag song has a simple, repeating structure where the words swap out easily. You already know the melody. Your child already loves hearing you sing it. All you have to do is change what you're singing about to match whatever is happening.

Trying to get out the door? Sing about the steps: shoes on, bag packed, coats zipped, here we go. Your toddler is losing patience at the grocery store? Sing about the things going into the cart. Getting dressed on a cold morning? Sing about each layer as it goes on.

A few songs that work well for this

If you're in our current collection, "Shake Those Simmons Down" is a natural substitution song. The structure is built for swapping in any activity. "Me, You, We" lives right on the edge of a song without words, which means the phrases can become almost anything. You could turn it into a grocery list: tuna, pasta, pizza dough. You could turn it into a series of actions when you're trying to finish a task together.

From last semester, "'Bout My Friends" and "Hop Ol' Squirrel" both lend themselves to this. "Let me tell you 'bout my friends" becomes "let's all put on our mittens, let's all put on our big coats, let's all have a great big hug." "Hop ol' squirrel, eidle dum eidle dum" becomes "walk to school, eidle dum eidle dum" or "climbing the stairs, eidle dum eidle dum."

You don't need to be clever about it. You don't need to be a musician. You just need a melody your child recognizes and words that fit the moment.

When you change the words of a song to describe your child's life, the song stops belonging to the classroom and starts belonging to your family. Your child hears their own world inside a melody they love. Getting a diaper changed becomes musical. Walking to school becomes musical. A hard moment at the store becomes something you navigate together, with a song both of you know.

That's what we mean when we say music becomes part of family life. Not that you play an album in the background. That you use your voice, in your own way, to carry your family through the ordinary moments of the day.

Jacquelyn didn't set out to do something educational. She just sang to her baby and changed the words to fit. But in doing that, she gave Dorothy something important: the experience of hearing her own life set to music by the person she trusts most.

You already have everything you need to do this. You know the songs. Your child knows your voice. Pick one and make it yours.

There's room for your family in our classes this fall. Come see what it sounds like.