Every time that song is played on the car radio, 16-month old Jessica claps her hands and hums to the beat from the back of the car. She’s as happy as she can be, and with her bunny-like smile, she’s grinning ear to ear. You smile back at her from the rear view mirror. As soon as you start singing along, she giggles and tries to sing louder. The song ends and the two of you are still singing and laughing. This is just one of many signs you’ve had indicating your baby loves music.
Children have a natural love for music. They love a good tune with an energetic beat. It’s amazing what music can do for a kid. As a powerful stimulant, music can alter your child’s mood instantly and create new bonds and memories. We all have our personal stories of using music to calm a colicky baby or playing a favourite lullaby to put a little one to sleep. Music can also make time fly away on a long car ride. And, let’s not forget the role that music plays at parties!
Music is very much deep-rooted in our everyday culture. Without it, our lives wouldn’t be the same. Take a moment and just imagine what your child’s life would be like without ever having heard “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “ABC song.” Or, how would they like to watch Sesame Street without any music? It’s unthinkable. Music is an inherent part of our nature and who we are in so many ways. Our experiences with music start in early childhood and unquestionably last a lifetime.
Increasingly enough, more attention is being drawn to the role of music in society and how it influences our children. In recent years, the marketplace has been flooded with innovative toys, videos, and a wide range of baby equipment that play popular nursery rhymes or classical music. Why? Sure, music is enjoyable and fun, but extensive research has shown lately that exposing children to music stimulates their overall intelligence and emotional development. Having children listen to different types of music also nurtures their self-esteem while encouraging creativity, self-confidence and curiosity.
What the Research Says. The International Foundation of Music Research, based at the University of Texas at San Antonio, has produced many publications on the benefits of music on early brain development. There is substantial evidence indicating that babies are aware of and respond to music and different sounds inside their mother’s womb. Hundreds of thousands of nerve cells are sprouting miraculously in an unborn baby’s brain. At birth, a baby’s brain development still remains incomplete. Moments after birth, a baby may turn in the direction of a voice or sound, searching for the source. Newborns quickly learn to recognize their mother’s voice from others and they are able to respond to changes in a person’s voice or pitch before they reach their first birthday -- often by moving their arms and legs or babbling and cooing. A child’s brain develops its full potential when exposed to enriching experiences in early childhood. Stimuli received in early childhood are crucial to brain growth and the development of important connections made in nerve cell networks.
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