There’s a myth running rampant that if your child listens to classical music it will make them more intelligent. WRONG. However, music does stimulate the development of children, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be Bach to do it. Even singing to a child can help them to develop certain skills, as they will often try to imitate what they are hearing, mush like they will try to imitate things that they see being done. It’s how they learn quite frankly.

Take a look at sites like YouTube at the videos that people are posting left and right of 2 years singing songs all the way through without missing a beat. That child quite frankly, is for the most part doing nothing that any other child can’t do as well. It is just that the child’s parents worked with them, sang to them, played music for them and in general just spent ample time assisting the child to develop. The end result is the child learned what they were hearing.

There’s something about all humans that allows music to affect us in some sort of way that seems mysterious. There really is nothing mysterious about it. Musical instruments, when played properly of course, sounds good to our ears, and it is pleasing. Baby music is the same to children. We tend to produce tunes that appeal to them. These are generally fun type songs that set them to moving to the rhythm of the music.

Baby music can also help a child to build vocabulary, and to just learn in general. For those in the US, you may remember back in the 70’s (if you are that old!) the schoolhouse rock commercials that would come on during the Saturday morning cartoons. These were songs that were “fun” to the kids, and they were running around singing these songs all over the place and the Department of Education successfully completed their mission. These songs taught things such as the use of conjunctions, how a bill becomes a law and many other things. The US Constitution was also the subject of one these mini-features.

The point that is trying to be made, is that while it is pleasant to listen to, music is also a valuable tool for teaching. It stimulates the mind and opens it up to absorb information for lack of a better way to explain it in laymen’s terms.

Studies have been conducted, thoroughly testing the effects music had on babies. Now, these tests were conducted on infants who were premature at birth – a difficult time for everyone involved when the baby is a preemie. Now, this test consisted of playing pre-recorded lullabies for the babies for about a half hour a day. By the time the fourth day rolled around, what do you think that the doctors and nurses recorded? For one thing, the infants that participated in the test and actually heard the music had improved overall health, including gaining weight, blood pressures that were more of a normal level and even stronger heart beats. Now stop and think about it for a moment – music did all this!

Music definitely has healing power. When baby is feeling bad, singing some baby music to him or her can help to soothe them or even playing a music CD with baby music on it can help the child to relax and fall asleep.

It’s important to note, that “blaring” music is not likely to stimulate this learning process. In fact it could actually harm the baby’s ear if music is played too loudly over an extended period of time. The music should be soft, but loud enough to hear. If you cannot speak to someone sitting across the table from you because the music is too loud, then you need to put the volume down.

The idea behind it all is to stimulate the child and his or her thinking process, and then the learning begins. Play tunes that are fun for baby like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and other songs like that. It won’t be long before they are learning to sing along with the music, and learning other things as well!