Music and Child Health and Development

A Feasibility Study of Music and Play to Enhance Health and Developmental Outcomes in Infants From Low-income Families

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of a music enrichment program on the quality of parent child interactions, a child's motivation to eat, and a child's language environment in 9 to 24 month-old children from low-income families. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does participation in a music enrichment program improve the quality of parent-child interactions?
2. Does participation in a music enrichment program reduce motivation for food
3. Does participation in a music enrichment program improve the quality of the language environment?

Participants will:

1. Be randomly assigned to participate in either 2, 8-week semesters of weekly music enrichment classes or play group sessions.

2. At the beginning, after the first 8 weeks and after the second 8 weeks, a researcher will come to the participants house and parent-child pairs will:

   1. be video recorded during 10 minutes of playtime and meal time.
   2. fill out questionnaires
   3. wear a small wearable language recorder for 16 hours

3. At the beginning, after the first 8 weeks and after the second 8 weeks, the parent and child will come to the baby lab and will:

   1. Play a computer game to test motivation for food
   2. have height and weight measurements collected

Researchers will compare the music and play groups to see if there is a difference in the quality of parent child interaction, food motivation or language environment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Family income meets criteria for the National Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program
• Family is able and willing to commit to a 6-month program

Exclusion Criteria:

• Mother <18 years old at the time of delivery
• During pregnancy:
• Mother smoked >10 cigarettes/day
• Mother used >1 marijuana joint/day
• Mother used any other illicit drugs
• Mother drank > 3 standard drinks on a single occasion or >1 standard drink on a daily basis
• Preterm birth <37 weeks gestation
• Child with significant health issues, and/or genetic conditions (e.g., cerebral palsy, down's syndrome)
• Mother with major health concerns during pregnancy (e.g., gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, etc)
• Parent/child who do not speak English