In Focus - Music

The Wiggles, Hi 5, Playschool and even High School Musical have one thing in common, and are all successful for one reason….MUSIC!

Music is a universal language. Even before our children learn to speak, they learn to communicate and connect with song and sound. Singing lullaby’s to our babies and rocking them back and forth has been a centuries old method of soothing babies to lull them to sleep and settle.

Children take to music naturally. Some suggest that babies are born with inherent musical capabilities because their responses to music are immediate and instinctive: they are not learned. The benefits of exposing children to music at an early age has been well researched. Studies from all around the world show that when children are exposed to music from a young age, it will improve a child's reasoning skills and memory and problem solving abilities.

Research has also shown that exposure to music will help children in; physical coordination, timing, memory and reasoning capacity, visual, and language skills and improves self esteem.

So what do we exactly mean by the term “exposing children to music”? It means allowing children to experience a range of different types of music and musical activities such as:

• singing
• moving to music
• exploring and perhaps even playing instruments
• clapping
• listening to soothing music at settling time
• reciting nursery rhymes to your child

The list is endless, but remember your child does not have to be listening to Mozart or learning to play the violin or piano by the time they are 3 to reap the benefits that music has to offer. We as parents can do so many different musical activities in our own homes that are fun, educational, beneficial and inexpensive!

Over the next three weeks local Early Childhood music expert Julie Logan will be giving tips and activity suggestions focusing for each age group, simple activities that you can do at home with your children. Julie has extensive experience in designing and implementing music programs for children aged 0-5years for early intervention services, primary schools and the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music.

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