Music has become a part of our everyday life, you’d literally have to live in caves to avoid it completely. From an early age, and even in the womb, children are exposed to sounds. Whether they are sung to sleep by a parent or they hear the tunes in their favorite TV show, the exposure is inevitable.
Music plays a very vital role in children’s development, so it’s good to get a child into singing and playing musical instruments from an early age. It is never too early for parents to begin introducing kids to music though, So if it’s something you had never considered, now is the time to get your kids involved.
A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute found that musical experiences in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. According to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM Foundation), learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical learning and improve academic performance.
Academic achievement isn’t the only benefit of music education and exposure. Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness, including intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults, music helps strengthen memory skills.
In addition to the developmental benefits, music brings us joy. Just think about listening to a good song in the car with the window down on a beautiful day.
Infants (0-1 year) and Music:
Infants recognize the melody of a song long before they understand the words. Quiet background music can be soothing for infants, especially during sleep time. Sing simple, short songs to infants. Try making up one or two lines about bathing, dressing, or eating to sing to them while you do these activities.
Toddlers (1-3 years) and Music:
Toddlers love to dance and move to music. The key to toddler music is repetition, which encourages language and memorization. Silly songs make toddlers laugh. Try singing a familiar song and inserting a silly word in place of the correct word, like “Mary had a little spider” instead of lamb. Let children reproduce rhythms by clapping or tapping objects.
Preschoolers (3-5 years) and Music:
Preschoolers enjoy singing. They aren’t self-conscious about their ability, and most are eager to let their voices roar. They like songs that repeat words and melodies, use rhythms with a definite beat, and ask them to do things and follow directions. Preschool children enjoy nursery rhymes and songs about familiar things like toys, animals, play activities, and people. They also like finger plays and nonsense rhymes with or without musical accompaniment.
School-Age Children (6-12) and Music:
School-age children begin expressing their likes and dislikes of different types of music. They may express an interest in music education, such as music lessons for kids.
We are able to enjoy the benefits of music from the moment we’re born. From the pure pleasure of listening to soothing sounds and rhythmic harmonies, to gaining new language and social skills, music can brighten up and enrich the lives of children and the people who care for them but not entirely without guidance from parents or other adults bearing in mind that there are many genres of music that kids shouldn’t be allowed to listen to.
Some studies indicate that children who are allowed to listen to music containing sexually explicit lyrics such as rap music, violent music, or heavy metal music have a tendency to be more emotionally charged, depressed, emotionally confused, and sometimes even suicidal or homicidal.
That said, one thing that should be addressed regarding kids' music is lyrics. Children tend to remember everything they hear so being exposed to inappropriate language or music that promotes violence or racial slurs can influence children to adopt this kind of attitude.
It is therefore important that as parents introduce their children to music, they have to be guided and monitored in their use of it.