Children and Music: Importance of Music in Child Development
by David Barnes Baseball enthusiastFROM SINGING TO SPEAKING
One fantastic thing
you’ll notice about a young child that takes music lessons or
learns through music is the amazing advantage in speech and sound
articulation compared to non-music kids. Infants recognize the melody
of a song long before they understand the words. In the early
process of language
acquisition, familiarizing children with nursery
rhymes, catchy tunes and songs helps children gain
more confidence in speaking and using language easily and
appropriately.
UNLEASHED PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITY WITH
PLAYING
The best gift you
can give to your child is a
skill of playing an instrument. A common misconception
is that only talented kids should bother singing or playing music -
on contrary! Taking music lessons can help your child become smarter,
more disciplined and focused. What’s more, listening to different
musical genres and getting interested in the artistic aspect of music
creation and consumption is great for unleashing the creative
monsters in your child and letting them take over other areas of
life.
The sooner your child is introduced to music playing, the better. Parents play the most important role in musical education when it comes to expanding a child’s musical horizon. For many years, researchers have been pointing out that children whose families are more musically orientated are considerably more developed in their musical behavior than children who experience a less musically orientated environment. Resources like Music Groupies and similar websites are a great place for finding useful information on best instruments and music equipment needed for achieving a proper playing experience for your child.
MUSIC AND THE BRAIN
Wouldn’t it be great if you could have influence on your child’s brain development? Studies have found a correlation between early childhood music instruction and gray matter expansion. Compared to amateurs and non-musicians, musically instructed children were found to have more gray matter in the auditory, motor, and visual-spatial areas of the brain. The strengthening of certain areas of the brain through repeated use will lead to more gray matter.
This means that involving your child into music-making process will have influence on their cognitive skills development in general, such as memory, concentration, paying attention and thinking . Combined with movement and dancing, music gives children an opportunity to make spatial relations, successfully memorize choreographies, simultaneously think about movement and singing, which helps in overall skill enhancement.
That being said, it’s important to understand that singing or playing some music to kids won’t give the same results in this matter as teaching a child how to play an instrument or compose and make music. The famous “ Mozart effect” in this case is still questionable, so giving a child the opportunity to be a part of music-making process will be more efficient for brain development.
BOOSTED IQ?
Most parents
secretly encourage their children to play an instrument in order to
discover a new prodigy, but it happens almost never. In any case,
musical training can in some ways help your child with improving
intelligence. Although he or she may not become Einstein, there is
evidence that fluid
intelligence (the ability to solve new problems, use
logic in new situations, and identify patterns) can be improved
through musical training. However, evidence in actual IQ boosting
still stays inconclusive. Nevertheless, giving your child the
opportunity to play an instrument won’t certainly prove to be a
waste of time, since it can help in setting good examples for
acquiring good learning methods and habits.
MUSIC AND SOCIAL CONNECTING
“Music connects
people” may be an overused phrase, but in this case it’s
perfectly applicable. Kids like dancing, singing and pantomime, they
repeat what they hear and see, and usually like to share it with
others. Music develops children’s verbal and motor skills, it gives
them confidence and energy to explore the world around them and share
it with others. If a child is struggling with being too shy or
adapting socially, learning to play an instrument or sing can be an
efficient way of dealing with social anxiety, stress or isolation.
Being a musician may help in overcoming stage fright, learning how to
be in the spotlight and facing the fear of performing in front of
strangers, friends and family.
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Created on Jul 12th 2019 08:03. Viewed 528 times.