It’s natural for parents to want to give their children the best start in life, and research tells us one of the easiest and best things parents can do to equip their children for future success is expose them to music and participate with them in interactive music experiences.
An article in Science Daily put it this way, “One-year-old babies who participate in interactive music classes with their parents smile more, communicate better and show earlier and more sophisticated brain responses to music.”
Another review of several recent studies determined, “Musical skills predict children’s performance on language tasks… The [12] papers provide evidence that rhythm and melody predict language acquisition, including semantic and syntactic aspects as well as phonological awareness… Research suggests that specific musical features, such as melody, play an essential role in language development.
A recent article in Frontiers in Psychology concludes, “The strong link between music and language through different stages of development, from infancy to schoolchildren, suggests that these two systems share common competencies and neural resources.”
In fact, the research supports what Speech Language Pathologist Renee Sheline says she sees anecdotally everyday. “There's something about singing in the brain that it can free up speech sometimes,” Sheline told me in a recent conversation. In working with children experiencing speech delays or disorders, she regularly uses music, singing, and even dancing as part of her treatment plans.
Even when they are small babies, hearing the sounds of music and singing, being exposed to rhythmic movement and dancing – these things stimulate and activate the neurological pathways babies need to learn and grow.
Similarly, experiencing music rarely occurs in a vacuum. Rather, it’s often a group activity which means that in addition to educational enrichment, music classes and performances offer babies, children, and their caregivers the opportunity to socialize and interact with their peers in a positive and uplifting environment – all things that further stimulate the brains of babies and adults in advantageous ways.
It is well documented that experiencing music – not just listening to the radio, but really experiencing music – offers many valuable benefits for developing minds. Those benefits will serve children throughout their school years and well into adulthood.
If you’re looking to provide your child with a firm foundation at the beginning of life, musical experiences are among the best and easiest ways to do so.