The Magic of Musical Moments: How it nartures young minds

Study Time, Meal Time, TV time… Why Not Music Time?

Never thought of it? Most of the parents we spoke to in our Tikitribe community were equally taken aback at the idea. But as we mark the International Music Day, let’s look at the deep significance of music to impact and empower children for life

‘Music time’ doesn’t necessarily mean a structured music tutorial. It could be a time when your youngster may sing along loudly to his favourite song; dance to lively beats; sit back and enjoy the lyrics; or just have it playing in the background as he or she reads, paints and study even - yes, this is known to help some children concentrate better.

Here is what science says music does:

Improves brainpower

Encouraging your kid to sing along with his favourite song doesn’t just up his mood but gets his brain revved up and helps hone cognitive function. In children particularly, music helps sharpen memory, process sound, and brushes up language acquisition and reading skills. Set the tone for the day with the right music in the morning. Anything peppy – doesn’t have to be devotional music!

Builds confidence

Listening to music, playing an instrument, and singing together all have a social buzz around it. Your child will feel connected, which in turn leads to building social skills and confidence. Learning to play a musical instrument brings deep joy, a sense of achievement and confidence.

Teach your child to enjoy the act of creating music, he does not need to master an instrument or enter competitions to be able to learn to absorb the abiding emotional joy of music.

Teaches them discipline

Learning to play a musical instrument such as a violin requires one to master not just the notes but also a certain posture; trying to memorize a piece or sing calls for months of dedicated practice. All this teaches them the art of making meaningful progress by learning how to concentrate.

This is a fail-safe way to inculcate discipline in your child. Additional also shows that musical training can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning and literacy skills.

When you introduce the concept of a music hour in your child’s schedule, it calls for him to pay attention and listen to music, even if not play an instrument. This in itself is a powerful practice. A routine where you develop patience, ability to be quiet and appreciate the finer nuances of life.

Music helps communication & imagination

Music plays a huge role in communication, even in babies. Babies develop neural pathways that are necessary for listening and speaking. That is why they begin with babbling and creating sound to communicate, then quickly mimic sounds as a medium to understand and make sense of the world around them.

Research shows that playing happy music with high emotional content helps increase creativity and imagination. Children exposed to music are happier and are better problem-solvers and out-of-the-box thinkers.

Music Increases Sensory Development

Like texture, taste and colour aids a child’s sensory development, exposing kids to various types of music too enables more pathways between the cells in young brains, furthering their sensory development.

Creates Empathy and Listening Skills

Music has been proven to help activate specific areas of the brain such as the circuit that enables us to understand others and what they might be feeling or thinking. This naturally leads to your child growing up as a thinking, sensitive and kinder adult.

So get going on the karaoke; discuss your child’s taste in music, share yours; invest in a good sound system, introduce them to the lives of great musical masters and their compositions, and create that magical ‘Music Hour’ where you join them in soaking up your favourite melodies. These times will create wonderful memories for your child and you to cherish forever.