Stimulating Senses: How Is Making Music Good For Your Baby’s Development?

Listening to and making music are both bonding and learning activities that not only help your baby’s overall development but can ignite a live-long love of music.

Hearing is one of the first senses that a baby develops and throughout their early years continues to gain strength. We know from research that listening to music during the childhood has incredibly positive benefits for all areas of cognitive development.

How Does Music Help Your Babies Brain Develop?

Music stimulates the brain on many levels and can affect mood, concentration and creativity in people of all ages. Introducing music as early as possible is a positive and enjoyable way to support development of many of their vital physical and cognitive skills, from coordination to pattern recognition and creative expression. Listening to and making music are both important so make sure to share and repeat different types of sounds and rhythms with them.

What Sort Of Music Do Babies and Young Children Enjoy Most?

As they get older and are exposed to different music and songs, whether from school, television or from music-making toys, you’ll see them returning to particular sounds again and again. Encourage them to explore as many options for enjoying music as possible, and as always let your child lead when it comes to creative expression, even if it doesn’t sound quite as appealing to grown-up ears!

At bedtime, singing or playing gentle music helps to create a calm environment and signal that it’s time for sleep. Make music part of your bedtime routine and enjoy the benefits of signalling wind-down time with a favourite song or lullaby.

During the day, play music around the house and make it part of your everyday life. Sing along with favourite songs on the television or radio, through smart speakers or from your own collection of music giving them a broad introduction to musical experiences.

Introducing Your Baby To Music

Very young babies are able to move to basic rhythms and as soon as they have developed their fine motor skills enough to be able to handle and keep hold of objects, you can start playing simple rhythm games together. Tap out beats either with music or without and encourage your little one to join in, clapping, banging with their hands or with a wooden spoon or drumstick.

You can make drums, rainmakers and even a simple guitar from basic household objects, but if you do want to explore options that give your baby a wider range of sounds and tunes to play with, there’s lots of exciting toys for very young children that make music.

Early years music-making toys often have exciting elements to keep your baby engaged such as lights, sounds and soft or crunchy textures. Large buttons, keys or things to slide and shake support development of hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and spark joy and creativity as they play.

Learning Through Playing Music With Pre-Schoolers

As they begin to develop the ability to vocalise sounds and then words, music can play a big part in helping to grow their vocabulary, rhythm, and ability to express emotions and feelings, Playing loud, music can signal a party, and calming tunes or classical music indicate that it’s time to wind-down. As their own preferences develop, you can tailor your music choices to what they love, bringing extra joy to your quality time together. Toys that offer a musical reward., such as activity cubes and shakers, help grow their confidence in making music, allowing them to start learning how to express themselves. Bright colours, shapes and faces add extra fun and playing along to their favourite song is something the whole family can join in with and enjoy.

The Benefits Of Playing An Instrument

Simple to play instruments such as xylophones and tambourines are a great way to give young children the scope and freedom to create their own music. Learning to play an instrument when they are young fosters strong connections in  the creative and processing areas of the brain. Music can help connect people, stimulate memory, recall and recognition and become a channel for expressing both negative and positive emotions. At school, a knowledge and love of music helps in many subjects, from Maths to Physical Education and can help with their social experiences and problem solving too. Music has been shown to help in the short term with spatial awareness and concentration. In a study of 87 young children titled Piecing It Together – The Effect Of Background Music on Childrens Puzzle Assembly listening to music is shown to help children solve a puzzle more effectively and maintain concentration for longer. The benefits of making music don’t stop with childhood either, playing an instrument has been linked to better brain health in older adults. too.

Fun Ideas For Musical Play

There are lots of fun ways to bring music into their play time.

Start a Family Band – does an older sibling play an instrument, or does an older member play the piano? Passing on musical skills is a lovely way to create special memories with grandparents or important Aunties and Uncles.

Play Musical Games – Groups of siblings or friends will enjoy playing musical games such as Musical Chairs or Musical Statues.

Make Up Silly Songs – Young babies will enjoy listening to you sing as you go through the day, making up songs about getting ready to go out, or tidying up.

Dance – Dancing has obvious positive benefits on physical health and development. It helps with balance, coordination, flexibility and strengthens muscles as well as helping in areas of cognitive development too.

Interactive Songs – Children’s songs often have interactive elements or repeating choruses that all ages will enjoy getting involved in. Counting songs such as 10 Green Bottles or 5 Little Ducks support early maths knowledge and sequencing skills.  Action songs such as Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes and The Wheels On The Bus help them make sense of simple real world concepts and get them moving!

Don’t forget, you may have to listen again and again as their enthusiasm for listening to or making music grows!  Offering encouragement, rewards and positive reactions to music they create will grow their self-esteem and help them explore their ideas with more confidence. Explore Early Learning Centre’s full range of toys designed to simulate their sensory development below, and keep an eye out or more blog posts focused on their essential Learning Skills.

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