We don’t talk about Bruno … but we sure can sing about him!

 

If you spend a lot of time in the company of small children (and not so small children, to be fair), then you’re probably going through something very similar to me just now. Nope, not the stark realisation that your nearly 5-year-old is getting ready to start school and he’s not a baby anymore (sob). Not the awareness that getting back to the office a few days a week means you’ll need to wear something that probably isn’t stretchy and definitely requires matching socks.

I’m talking about those moments when you’re doing something really mundane like making a cup of tea or washing your hands, and before you know it, you’re belting out “SEVEN FOOT FRAME, rrrrrrats along his back” and attempting to sing all three parts of that bit towards the end of the song. That’s right. I’m talking about Bruno. You know, the Bruno we’re quite categorically not supposed to talk about. Not just Bruno either, to be fair - the whole of the family Madrigal has absolute command of my brain approximately 75% of the time.

But you know what’s wonderful? It’s not just me who is utterly spellbound by the wonderful soundtrack to Encanto, Disney’s latest blockbuster movie. Every child I know sits up and takes notice when they hear the opening notes of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’. The absolute joy on their wee faces as they twirl and jump around and sing ‘The Family Madrigal’ makes my heart want to burst.

I love hearing little children sing. It’s one of the most cheerful, enriching sounds in the world, and we know it’s brilliant for both their brain and language development. They have no inhibitions when it comes to doing it either – if a wee person likes a song and wants to sing it, you better believe you’re going to hear it, loudly, with a confidence that most adults could only ever dream of.  

It almost seems like a lifetime ago that we were, however, having to curtail this natural reaction because of COVID-19. How difficult it must have been for our amazing early years workforce to have to tell their wee charges to sing more quietly, or worse not sing at all, because there could be consequences for virus transmission.

For me, it’s sometimes hard to believe we managed to get through those most difficult days of lockdowns and restrictions – it was a time when things were so uncertain, and so challenging for both the sector and for our children and families. When it was genuinely difficult to think about positive things because the world was quickly turned upside down. And when we had to restrict our youngest children from doing what came naturally and which brought a bit of joy during a really strange time.

But we dug deep, we sought support from friends and family and colleagues and organisations, in a range of ways, and we’re now, slowly but surely, getting through the other side. We’re no longer restricted with the number of people we can see at a time, nor do we have to wave at our family and friends through their windows.

Importantly, we can encourage children to sing again. In fact, the Care Inspectorate have recently published the guidance note ‘Sing for Joy and Learning’, which promotes just that. It doesn’t have to be songs from Encanto, or any other movie for that matter – as long as they’re doing it loudly, with gusto, with actions and dance moves, and in a way that would melt even the coldest of hearts. Bruno, and the rest of the gang have, it seems, have come along at the perfect time. Altogether now … “Isabella, your boyfriend’s here – time for dinner!!”