Music contributes to the development of the baby: his personality, brain, creativity, thinking, intelligence. Strive for the all-round development of your child? Play beautiful melodies for him from a young preschool age.
The role of music in child development
Numerous studies have proven that art has a positive effect on brain function. Scientists point to such positive effects:
- Improves memory. The kid listens to works, songs. On a subconscious level, he remembers the melody and words. Speech therapists advise learning poems with kids to train memory. Everything happens naturally with your favorite songs;
- Launches speech. The child sings favorite songs, hums melodies – trains articulatory muscles. The more the child speaks, the faster the development of speech;
- Improves school performance. Do you want your daughter, son to quickly learn to read, write and count? Train your spatial thinking. An effective tool is music for child development. It optimizes brain function. The result is good grades in mathematics at school, the ability to learn foreign languages;
- Stabilizes the emotional background. Hyperactive children will be soothed and relaxed by a calm piece, quiet and passive ones – cheerful melodies will cheer up;
- Improves coordination of movements. This is true for children with disorders of the musculoskeletal system, hypo- or hypertonicity of muscles – they usually have less control over the body;
- Increases cognitive interest. Replace virtual reality and gadgets with music. She feeds the curiosity, the cognitive interest of children;
- Develops a sense of rhythm. It is responsible for coordination of movements, expressiveness of speech, emotional balance, a sense of time and the ability to plan, analytical thinking.
Playing music together – singing, listening, playing – strengthens your relationship with your child.
Intellectual development
Scientists have proven that Mozart’s works have a positive effect on intelligence. They improve memory, mental abilities. There is a scientific explanation for the effect: beautiful, complex and rich melodies affect certain genes and form proteins that respond to thought processes.
That is why it is worth giving your son and daughter to listen to beautiful works as early as possible. They construct the brain: in preschool children, it is very malleable, like a sponge absorbs new knowledge, emotions, and experience.
Child psychologists advise: during educational games, turn on Beethoven’s discs in the background. You will quickly notice the result: your son, daughter will perform better tasks, attention and productivity will increase. The effect is proven in the course of research.
After classes or active games, before going to bed, turn on calm melodies: sounds of nature, lullaby. They will relax the child, curb emotions, help to cope with fatigue and stress.
Emotional development and socialization
Beautiful melodies affect the parts of the brain that are responsible for a person’s ability to react emotionally: empathize, trust, and subsequently find a common language, make friends and cooperate with people.
This is noticeable in kindergarten: kids listen to works together, play instruments, sing, dance – they are brought together by joint activity, which disposes to communication, gives a feeling of belonging to the team and what is happening around.
Another effect of music for the development of children is that it teaches you to express your feelings, share them. In young children, this is manifested through physical activity: they jump, swing, step from foot to foot in time to the melody. They react with a smile, laughter, clap their hands. These are the first expressions of emotion.
This is how the social skills of babies are formed.
Early development of a person’s creativity
It occurs through the perception of musical works – listening, analysis and musical activity – singing, dancing, rhythmic movements, playing children’s instruments (tambourine, maracas, xylophone, drum, pipe). It’s good to have them at home.
The guys listen to the melody and learn to understand, feel and interpret it. This is impossible without imagination, fantasy.
Children’s songs also contribute to this. They have simple rhythms, words are easy to remember. Children listen to songs – they represent them in pictures, the imagination draws vivid images. Later they come up with their own poems and songs, sing them.
Child psychologists have a great exercise: painting to songs. The task of the guys: to depict on paper what they heard or what they feel.
Artistic and aesthetic personality development
Striving for beauty is natural for people. Do you want to raise a person with a sense of beauty? Surround him with it from early childhood! Introduce beautiful music, painting, books. For him, it will be an inoculation against low-standard art for life.
The best music for the development of children
Any works affect the little person: his body, brain, psyche. Your job as a parent is to protect him from negative influences and offer the right repertoire.
Classical music has a particular influence: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin. And neuropsychologists advise to include the works of Mozart during games. They include the brain: the child becomes creative, resourceful, solves problems in unusual ways.
Don’t forget about children’s songs, musical fairy tales. They are funny and joyful. They teach goodness, justice, get out of different life situations, instill the right values.
What kind of music is not suitable for the development of children
Do not include these works of the child and do not listen to them in his presence:
- loud, heavy. It has a negative effect on the nervous and endocrine systems;
- with an abundance of noises and percussion instruments. At the subconscious level, they will not allow the child to concentrate – the intellect suffers;
- songs with obscene language. Toddlers grasp and repeat all the words they hear. It will be incredibly difficult to wean them from swear words;
- monotonous melodies. Blues, ballads are good. But dosed. Try to alternate calm (but not mournful) melodies with perky ones. Consider the time of day, the temperament of the child.
Let’s talk about genres. Neuropsychologists advise to protect kids from listening to punk, garage rock, house, heavy metal, gothic. This is too heavy a strain on children’s ears. Kids will react to such songs with crying, hysteria, older preschoolers – hyperactivity, aggression. In this case, there is no talk of any positive influence of music on the development of the child.
How children develop through music
Psychologists recommend doing music therapy to shape the personality of a little person on a regular basis:
- The optimal frequency is 2 – 3 times a day;
- Duration – from 20 to 30 minutes one lesson. Your child loves to listen to melodies, songs – increase the time;
- Choose melodies: calm – after meals, before bedtime, cheerful – before meals, during the day;
- Choose the volume: no louder than calm conversational speech, background mode;
- Offer an assortment: classical, jazz, pop, folk, children’s songs – don’t get hung up on one genre. A wide repertoire is a guarantee of a versatile personality development.
Strike a balance – music for your child’s development will bring wonderful results.
Music for child development: when to start?
The sooner you include music therapy in your lessons with your son, daughter, the better. The brain of children is plastic. Up to 3 years old kids accumulate knowledge in a huge amount. They develop intellectually, creatively, emotionally, personally. Facilitate this process, help them get the most out of this period.
Music is perfect for the development of the baby before birth and newborns. When to turn on her unborn baby?
From 15 to 18 weeks of pregnancy, he will hear the first sound. It is objectively early to include melodies for him, but do it if you wish.
At 24 weeks, his auditory analyzer is sufficiently developed to respond to external noise. Closer to the date of birth, the mother’s voice unmistakably recognizes.
The baby is able to hear melodies in the 3rd trimester. Turn on the crumb of gentle, light classical music, for example, Mozart – babies in the womb react to him with movements. Pick a few lullabies and let’s listen to my daughter, son. Sing or turn on these songs for him – the child will be born and recognize them.
How to use music for child development
For infants, younger and older preschoolers, music therapy is useful for everyone. For a newborn, turn on discs in the background while feeding, bathing, changing clothes. Play lullabies or calm, quiet tunes before bed. Dynamic and cheerful – during exercise, massage.
For younger and older preschoolers, include classics during developmental activities, board games. Perky songs – for switching attention, during active games and pranks, calm – at the end of the day, before going to bed.
