Music is a very universal thing. No matter your age, race or gender, you can rejoice and unite with a song. It has an impact on all members of society – including children. In fact, studies have shown that children are known to respond to musical sounds even when in the womb.

The way they receive music is often very different from what adults perceive. Where we as adults try to understand the lyrics, children only care about the melody, tone and the beat. Still, it is no understatement when we say that music has benefits for children in their early development.

Let’s see what they are:

 

Improved literacy

Music stimulates the senses, making children’s brains more adept in understanding and processing sights and sounds. That, coupled with the fact that they are a lot more drawn towards the fun side of music, makes children more eager learners.

According to research, music based education can increase vocabulary and verbal sequencing ability, making young minds sharper in terms of creative ideas and good communication skills. Your toddler will ultimately do better in school, with better grades, I.Q scores and understanding of new topics.

 

Better cognitive skills

Apart from making minds brighter, music also affects the cognitive development of children; sing-along and dancing sessions create different patterns of development, allows your toddler to expand their thinking capacity. Their memory, spatial intelligence and concentration improves tenfold.

With this increased activity of the brain comes the increased activity of the body; motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and overall body coordination is seen to improve the more children take part in music-related tasks. Whether it’s singing along to songs, dancing to their beats, or playing instruments – without a doubt, your child will simultaneously polish some crucial coordination skills.

 

Enhanced self-expression

Music is the one concept that does not need an extensive guidebook to follow properly. That is why it stands out for children the most, who use it to express themselves in the easiest way. It gives them the freedom to think, imagine and create ideas. The joy and sense of individuality music brings makes every day that much more interesting for your toddler.

That is just the tip of the iceberg, though! Other social-emotional skills that improve drastically through musical education includes better self-control, higher self-esteem and confidence. They become better team players, more thoughtful for others and themselves.

 

BONUS: Improved mathematics!

We’re not kidding – the simple act of singing or dancing to a nursery rhyme is actually improving your child’s understanding of maths!

Professor Gordon Shaw at the University of California conducted his own experiment to prove this, and was successful. He states, “When children learn rhythm, they are learning ratios, fractions, and proportions.”

When children sing rhyming phrases, they absorb the basic elements of maths – repeated, calculated patterns of tones and words without even noticing it. This kind of basic understanding built at an early age helps them easily understand more complex topics in the future.

By now, you might be properly convinced that music has its benefits for children – but then you might ask, “How do I incorporate that into learning?”

The answer is simple: let nurseries like Oakfield in JLT, Dubai, do the job for you.

From Al Barsha to Fairy Meadows, Oakfield Early Learning Center has separate Music and Movement Rooms that let toddlers have a fun, relaxing time singing along to constructive nursery rhymes. After all, music never hurts any child – so why keep them away from something so beneficial for their lives in the long run?

Whatever the setting may be – a quiet room with their parents, or a busy classroom – music makes their lives more lively, vibrant and memorable.