Whether you have high aspirations for your child in the area of music or not, learning and listening to music is highly advantageous for your child.
It is common for mothers of very young children to sing to them, in order to calm them at the end of the day, so that they go to sleep. Hymns and patriotic music are played on official occasions and conventions, to arouse patriotic feelings in people. Loud and fast music with a strong tempo is played at parties, to motivate people to dance and "have fun". "Romantic" type music is played in movies as accompaniment for romantic scenes.
Music has the power to change our mood and affect us in ways no other tool can.
In addition to all that and most important for our children, it has been shown in research and statistics, that listening to music results in the creation of special neural connections in our brain, neural connections that increase our intelligence. There is a very interesting correlation between math and music, and it has been shown that people who are mathematically inclined, are also talented in music. Learning musical theory is very enriching to a child, and listening and playing music is a superior tool for the development of audio memory.
Above all, when your child is learning to play music, he is achieving all this growth, while having fun and enjoying himself. Offer your child the opportunity to take music lessons, to choose his favorite instrument, and let him decide if and when he is interested. If your child is not interested in the present moment, don't forget to offer it again later, your child might be ready to start at a later time.
If you love music or are interested in music yourself, why not do this activity with your child? It will bring you closer together, and strengthen the bond you have with your child forever! Music is an excellent tool to improve your relationship with your child, especially during the "difficult" teenage years.
Babies and Toddlers: Start with listening to music. If you have a newborn or a young baby, you can play classical music during the day, while you are doing all other activities. It is also good to play soft, classical music while the child is asleep. A good time to play classical music is while you are driving with your baby in the car. But don't limit yourself just to classical music! Play children's songs, sing to your child and with your child often. Another thing you can do is taking your child to concerts. If possible, you can take your child to a concert, maybe with a partner or a friend, and agree ahead of time that if the baby cries, one of you takes the baby out. See how it goes. You might have a baby that is naturally quiet in concerts. Another thing you can do is taking the baby to outdoor concerts. In most cities, during the summer there are free outdoor concerts of different styles of music. Those are excellent opportunities to expose babies and toddlers to various styles of music, while they can watch the players and the different instruments.
Very young children can start learning to play musical instruments. There are many teachers that are trained to work with babies, and especially the Suzuki method was developed with the very young in mind.
School-Aged Children: Since the cost-cutting measures many school districts have taken, music is hardly taught in school anymore. If your child has not taken any music lessons yet, make sure your child is exposed to different kinds of music. One trick that worked for me was, playing the classical music channel while we had to drive in the car. Having a busy schedule, like most people nowadays, we spent a long time in the car, and I took the opportunity to play classical music from the radio, or from CDs.
A highly recommended activity that children love, is learning to play an instrument "by ear". This is an excellent method of strengthening the audio memory of your child. This will have a profound effect on your child's learning ability. This program is an excellent place to start until your child is ready to go to music lessons, or if it's difficult for you to enroll your child in guitar lessons at the moment. Your child can use this program in the privacy of your own home. He will learn to play popular music, and maybe later will be interested in classical guitar.
Whether your child is taking music lessons or not, playing an instrument or not, make sure to provide for your child ample opportunities to listen to music, and to watch other people playing a variety of instruments.
Let your child listen to "oldies", he might like it! Tell him stories about old singers, especially the singers that you like and admire.
Summary: Music is an excellent tool to increase your child's intelligence and his audio memory and discrimination while enriching his enjoyment in life. It gives your child the opportunity to meet other children their age, participate in recitals and bands, and excel in one more area. It is advantageous for children of all ages, from infants to college students (and adults), and gives you, the parent, the opportunity to enjoy this activity with your children and strengthen your bond and friendship.
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