What music or movement can my child use to show mood? 

Parenting Perspective 

Not every feeling can be easily put into words. For many children, emotions are first experienced in the body through rhythm, sound, and movement. When your child uses music or motion to show their mood, they are learning a form of emotional translation, a way of expressing what they feel safely instead of suppressing it. This is not about performance or talent, but about giving their feelings a form that the heart can understand. 

Why Music and Movement are Effective 

Emotion and rhythm are processed in the same area of the brain. When children move, tap, sway, or hum, they are processing an energy that might otherwise emerge as anger, withdrawal, or tears. Music and movement help to release that emotion gently, transforming a sense of confusion into clear expression. Encouraging this creative release teaches your child that their emotions are not dangerous, but are simply messages that can be understood and managed. 

Creating a Space for Expression 

It can be helpful to set aside a small area at home where your child can move or listen to music freely. You could keep scarves, soft balls, or simple rhythm instruments nearby and say, ‘This is our space for feelings. You can dance, move, or play however you feel in here.’ This helps to make their emotions feel more tangible; something they can do, not just feel. 

Matching Movement to Mood 

You can help your child to notice how different feelings might move through the body. 

• Angry feelings might feel like strong, stomping steps or faster rhythms. 

• Sad feelings might feel like slow, gentle motions or soft humming. 

• Happy feelings might feel like jumping, spinning, or clapping. 

• Worried feelings might feel like small, repetitive movements or swaying. 

You can then invite them to explore this by asking, ‘Can you show me how your body feels right now, maybe with a movement or a sound?’ This reframes their emotional release as a creative choice rather than a behavioural problem. 

Moving and Listening Together 

Sometimes, joining your child in their movement or dance can deepen your trust and connection. You can follow their lead, mimicking their rhythm and mirroring their gestures. This practice of co-regulation through motion tells them, ‘I am with you in this feeling.’ It is a physical form of empathy. After a period of expression, you can guide them back toward stillness: ‘Let us end with some slow breathing, like a quiet song.’ This transition from movement to calm helps their emotions to settle. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam honours expression through permissible (halaal) means and recognises that the body and soul are deeply connected. Movement and rhythm, when they are used with purity and purpose, can be a great soother of the heart. Even the physical acts of prayer, the bowing and prostrating, carry a rhythm that brings a sense of calm. Teaching your child to express their emotions through movement or gentle music echoes this beautiful balance of body and spirit. 

The Quranic Call for Calm Expression 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Luqman (31), Verse 19: 

‘“And be modest in your attitude and lower your voice (in dealing with people); as indeed, the harshest of all sounds, is the noise of the donkeys”.’ 

This verse encourages moderation, a sense of balance in our movement and our sound. It reminds parents to guide their children toward expressing their energy with grace, not with chaos. When your child learns to move and express their feelings with a sense of moderation, they are practising a form of spiritual poise, a strength that is guided by inner calm. 

The Prophetic Encouragement of Gentle Expression 

It is recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1896, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Declare this marriage publicly, and beat the daff upon it.’ 

This hadith shows that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ permitted rhythm and gentle drumming (daff) as expressions of lawful joy, reminding us that sound and movement can serve good purposes, such as to celebrate and bring hearts together. When a child uses soft rhythms or movement to express their emotions, their actions can reflect that same wholesome joy that the Prophet ﷺ affirmed: an expression that is grounded in balance and dignity. 

By inviting your child to show their feelings through rhythm and motion, you are teaching them that their emotions are not to be feared, but to be understood. The heart, like music, needs to be able to flow in order to stay healthy. 

Over time, your child can learn to use movement to release their frustration, rhythm to regain their focus, and calm sounds to soothe their soul. When they do, your home will begin to echo the very harmony that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ embodied, where emotion is guided by gentleness, energy is balanced by awareness, and expression leads not to chaos, but to peace.