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Music and Brain Development: What You Can Do At Home

Parents are a child's first and best teachers, and nothing is easier or more enjoyable to nurture than a love of music! Focusing on variety and activities in which your child can participate are key, says Linda Page Neelly, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. "Through singing, playing, moving, listening and other experiences," she says, "you can stimulate children's thinking and decision-making, and encourage creativity."

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Foster your infant's love of music by singing, humming and chanting to her throughout the day. Don't worry if your voice isn't the best. Even if you're a bit off-key, it's a delightful sound to your baby!
Imitate the sounds your baby makes and encourage her to explore her own range. (Yes, that high-pitched screeching is a form of musical exploration!)
Encourage your baby or toddler to move along to music, dancing, rocking, clapping, nodding a whatever. The more active involvement, the better, says Neelly. "That kinesthetic immersion into the sound, that's when the brain is developing more," she explains. Try dancing with a fussy infant: You might be surprised at how calming it is for you both!
Introduce toddlers to songs that allow them to move and follow directions. By imitating your movements in "Follow the Leader" and "Hokey Pokey," they learn how to keep time with music. It's also great for language development and gross motor skills!
Children love to hear music that's familiar to them, so play their favorites often. Inventing new lyrics for familiar songs can teach them that music is a way to express creativity.
The benefits of music education are most noticeable when children are encouraged to create their own music. It's never too early to let your children be musicians. Infants can play with bells and rattles. Older babies and toddlers can bang on drums, xylophones, and toy keyboards or strum on child-sized guitars to develop musical abilities and fine motor skills.
Help your children make their own "instruments" using pots and pans, blocks, empty cans, plastic containers filled with beans, and other common household items.
Introduce your child to music from different styles and cultures. Music is one of the most effective ways to bridge cultural, social and generational differences. Fostering an appreciation of many types of music stimulates healthy brain development and can teach your child to communicate with people from many cultures and all walks of life.
Expose your child to a wide variety of musical experiences, from listening and moving to singing and playing, from solo "performances" to group music making, from exploring traditional instruments to improvising on "instruments" of her own creation.
Include music in your child's bedtime and naptime rituals. "One time that listening to music is extremely beneficial without movement is if it's calming, soothing music to help children rest," says Neelly. "It's very beneficial therapeutically to have a slow, calming melody and a slow rhythm to help calm children."

When it comes to music, experts agree, the more the better. "There has to be a good bit of it," Neelly advises, "not just a smattering here and there, but a real immersion." When you sing to and with your child as you get her dressed, play familiar CDs as you travel in the car, help her explore her music-making creativity by banging on pots and pans or tapping on a toy keyboard, introduce her to a variety of music through CDs and engaging children's videos, or calm her to sleep with a favorite lullaby, you make music an integral part of your child's life. It's never too early to foster a passion for music!

Check out some of our favorite musical toys, books, videos and DVDs to share with your budding musician:

Musical Toys:

Music Videos and DVDs:

Music-themed Board Books:

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