What are the benefits of listening to music for children?

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Encouraging your baby's natural fascination with music can strengthen your bond with him, strengthen his language skills, and open doors of fun for him to explore. So does listening to music really benefit children?

1. Does listening to music bring many benefits to children?

Certainly music can bring many benefits not only for children but also for everyone. Think about how music has influenced your life? Upbeat, happy melodies help us relieve stress and pressure in life, or soft music and blues help each person easily fall asleep. For babies, the effect of music is no different than for adults.
Lullabies have proven a mother's ability to comfort her newborn and ease her into a good night's sleep. Many babies even cry and refuse to go to sleep until their parents or caregivers play the familiar lullaby.
Music is sometimes even part of therapy for premature babies. There have been many studies that have linked listening to music with improved weight gain in babies. One of these studies found that 34-week-old premature infants given pacifiers that hosted certain lullabies had significantly shorter hospital stays and intensive care.
Music can also benefit the baby's own family members, helping mothers ease their pain after giving birth or making fathers more optimistic, reducing the pressure they are under. work, family's financial situation.... Music also helps to bond the feelings of parents with their children. Imagine the joy of baby and parent swaying to the beat of a fun song. Or how comfortable the baby will feel when he is snuggled in the loving arms and listening to the lullabies from his mother.

2. Can music make children smarter?

This question has so far remained unanswered because not too many studies have been done to examine the link between music and infant intelligence. Some experts say that learning to play musical instruments can make children smarter, which is evident in math. However, these conclusions are based on studies in older children, not infants and toddlers. Even so, there have also been many studies showing that learning music from an early age can greatly affect brain development.
A study conducted on both college students and 5-year-olds found that regularly listening to soothing music can improve scores on cognitive tests as well as boost creativity. listener. Another study found that infants can distinguish language between their mother tongue and other languages ​​by hearing pitch and rhythm. When babies are 2 months old, they can even remember short rhymes. If that hasn't surprised parents, according to some experts, a 35-week-old fetus can distinguish and remember different types of sounds. That is the reason to explain the trend for children to listen to music from the time they were in the womb.

3. The best ways to bring music into children's lives

The best way to make music a part of your baby's life is to limit the time spent on entertainment devices and instead spend time with them listening to music or practicing their ability to play games. musical instrument type. It's like we're sowing good seeds, says Rosalie Pratt, professor of music medicine at Brigham Young University. Here are some steps parents can take to introduce music step-by-step into their children's lives:
Let children listen to music before bedtime. Associate specific songs each day at the end of the day to forge the habit of letting your child fall asleep hearing those songs. Lullabies are the perfect choice, and some songs with gentle melodies should not be missed. The slow pace of the song along with the gradually darkening bedroom space is the most effective way for children to easily enter a deeper, sound sleep. However, parents need to avoid turning on music and leaving it overnight while the baby sleeps, which can make the baby's brain stimulated. Instead, let your baby listen to a few songs and then turn it off before he goes to sleep. Sing to your baby: Parents should not worry too much about the voice as well as how they pronounce the rhythm of the song. Babies are not a music critic and will enjoy and pay attention to all that their parents have to say. Mothers' choices don't have to stop at lullabies either. They can even incorporate songs into games or seemingly simple actions. For example, mothers can teach their children to walk while singing the children's rhyme "Dong dang dung dung" along with hip-shaking actions as well as funny facial expressions to attract babies. This can keep your baby interested and make learning to walk easier. Let your baby make their own music: Newborns can show different interests in regards to musical instruments. Many children like to play drums and play a toy piano, but parents should not take these things too seriously at this age. Most children are not ready to appreciate music and learn to play musical instruments until they are about 5 to 7 years old.

4. What kind of music is best for babies?

Let the parents' personal preferences determine what music they and their baby will listen to. If you turn up a classical music and get a response from your child or the baby shows attentive listening, don't hesitate to play such music often. Play your favorite tunes from TV shows or pretend to be a great drummer with chopsticks and a bowl. Just about anything can make for fun tunes, as long as kids get excited about them, although slow, melodious tunes should be chosen to lull them to sleep and fast tempo songs for playtime.
Experts also recommend against giving babies rock, grunge or rap music. Studies have shown that babies prefer soothing, harmonious sounds to harsh, dissonant sounds. When it comes to baby music, think of things that are simple and fun.
The goal of introducing children to music at an early age is simply to nurture their love of music, not necessarily to create the image of a great singer or composer. Listening to music is entertaining and exposes children to new types of sounds and rhythms. Pay attention to the tunes your baby shows interest in and choose songs that match that tune.
Children in the period from 6 months to 3 years old are very susceptible to respiratory problems, respiratory infections, skin diseases and gastrointestinal infections... parents need special attention attention to the care and provision of adequate nutrition for children.
For children to be healthy and develop well, it is necessary to have a nutritious diet in terms of quantity and quality balance. If children are not provided with adequate and balanced nutrients, it will lead to diseases of excess or lack of nutrients, which adversely affect the comprehensive development of children in terms of physical, mental and motor skills.
Parents should supplement their children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins to help fully meet their child's nutritional needs. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well.
Parents can learn more:
Signs of zinc deficiency in children
Micronutrient deficiency and failure to gain weight in children
Please regularly visit Vinmec.com website and update useful information to take care of your child. Take care of the baby and the whole family.
Reference sources: babycenter.com, whattoexpect.com, unicef.org