![]() So instead of blasting your favorite music when you are in the car with your little one, swap it out for something more soothing and easier to process, like some Vivaldi, Bach or Mozart. Loud, harsh, electronic sounds can be damaging and harmful. When they are small, babies’ nervous systems are still developing. Just as we strive to give our children a balanced diet full of healthy foods, we must also be aware of our children’s musical diet. Keeping a steady beat with your baby or toddler is one of the very first ways you can start engaging your child musically. So, by seizing opportunities to keep a steady beat with your child, you are actually preparing them to learn how to read! A bonus is that your child just thinks you are having fun together and being silly. Research shows us that the parts of our brain we use when we start learning to read and process language are the exact same parts of the brain that we use when we keep a steady beat. For some extra brain developing goodness, pat the steady beat on their knees while you say it. Do you have a favorite nursery rhyme? Share it with your child. Clap your hands, stomp your feet and pat your lap to create a fun pattern for your little one to mimic. Bounce them gently on your knee and chant their name to the beat. Here are five easy ways you can start today.ĥ Ways to Implement Music Into Your Child’s Life 1. We know that music works, so we do it, even without all of the scientific data behind it. So how can we make sure our little ones have a brain built for learning and creativity and problem-solving? We can give them music. When our toddler is wandering around the waiting room of the doctor’s office, touching everything in sight, we pick them up, bounce them on our knee, and start speaking a nursery rhyme or chanting words to a song. ![]() As parents, our natural instinct is to scoop up our precious screaming infant and gently rock and sing to them. Parents and grandparents have known this stuff since the beginning of time. This might sound complicated, but we assure you that it’s not. It activates multiple areas of their brains and strengthens those synapses connections, which has a profound impact on their ability to learn and process new information. So, for young children, listening to and participating in appropriate music is kind of like weightlifting for their brains. Because of this, we now know that when we engage with music, our brains light up in almost every single area and start firing synapses-the pathways our brain builds to perceive information. ![]() With the use of some pretty spiffy technology, doctors can watch what happens in a person’s brain during specific activities. All 10 episodes can also be watched at any time here, and feature special guests like children’s author Marc Boston and musician Tevin White, Albemarle County Public School teachers Marian McCullough, Molly Foster and Destinie Thomas, along with young musicians Matthias Stewart and Justin Parker. Read on to find Anderson’s tips on how to engage young children with music. ![]() Together with her husband Mike, they started “Songs & Stories with Mary and Mike,” a new children’s show on PBS that airs Mondays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. After earning her Bachelor’s in Trumpet Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University, she went on to get her Master’s in Music Education from Boston University. Growing up in a musical household, she was surrounded by music and learned how music connects us as human beings. Mary Anderson, co-founder, teacher and ukulele enthusiast of My Music Starts Here in Charlottesville, has also taught preschool and elementary general music for over 16 years. All of those things are essential to our children being successful in school and life. Participating in music-whether listening to it or actively making it-is proven to have a profound impact on developing brains, particularly as it relates to feeling safe and cared for, overall happiness, literacy skills, communication skills and social emotional skills. We want them to be strong, resilient, lifelong learners. And for the most part, we know that in order for these things to happen, our kiddos need to eat healthy foods, get lots of physical activity and spend time outdoors. But, how can we make sure our little ones are getting all they need to develop a healthy, strong, flexible brain that will be ready to process all that they will need to learn and understand? We want them to be kind to others and feel successful and fulfilled by pursuing their goals. WHY & HOW WE SHOULD INCORPORATE MUSIC INTO OUR HOMEĪs parents, we all want our children to be healthy and happy. ![]()
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