4 BENEFITS of music for Children

Right from when babies are in the womb, often parents begin to play music to their child. When the child is born, music is used in forms of lullabies to sooth and rhymes and songs are there to entertain, engage and interact. Infants recognize the melody of a song long before they understand the words.

There are several ways in which music can impact a child's development as they grow. Here are a few examples:

1. Cognitive Development

Several studies have shown that learning a musical instrument or being exposed to different musical experiences at an early age can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. It has also been shown to help improve mathematical learning.

Studies suggest that listening to different music promotes more divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is often referred to as lateral thinking. It is similar to brainstorming in that it involves coming up with many different ideas to solve a single problem. In other words "a creative mind".

2. sensory development

Just as colours, textures and taste help improve a child’s sensory development, so does music. Exposing a child to different types of music can help create more pathways between the cells in their brains. This effect increases even more when you link music to different activities such as dancing.

3. Emotional/Social Development

Children are affected by so many things. Different lyrics, rhythm and sounds can effect a child in many ways. It can stir up an array of emotions; happy, sad, angry etc. This can be used to teach children positive values or help them refrain from negative behaviors. Some children feel passionate about the subject of the song, the melody or the words. Those emotions can be channeled in any form of expression.

When you bring music and children together they connect and synchronize. This synchronization is a foundation for strong bonds and friendship, therefore a great platform for promoting emotional and social development.

4. confidence

If it is learning an instrument, singing solo or being part of a choir, a child will gain a sense of confidence. Self-belief is directly connected to self-esteem. If you experience enjoyment and a sense of achievement within music, this increases the self-confidence within ourselves.