Parenting Blog

Adults who love and appreciate all kinds of music understand how a melody can influence your emotions, lift your mood, and carry you away to a beautiful memory or evoke a vision of your hopes for the future. Music takes you on a mental journey and allows you to express and release your emotions. Research proves kids who participate in music programs do better in all subjects, including science and math. Fostering a love of music begins in infancy; that’s why expectant moms can be seen holding earphones to their pregnant bellies. It’s the perfect way to comfort your baby and build intelligence and creativity. There are lots of wonderful ways to introduce music into your child’s life and create priceless memories while doing so.

Pick a time of the day when each member of the family can take turns playing their favorite songs on the stereo, perhaps while you are cleaning up after dinner. Have your kids to take turns playing music they enjoy during car trips. Take your kids to see a musical. This is the perfect way to expose your children to all kinds of art. For a special occasion, get tickets to a ballet or an orchestra. Play a wide variety of music in your house or in the car. Try a variety of composers from Beethoven to Joplin or John Williams. Share with your kids the music you loved when you were their age. Purchase a Broadway cast recording of shows your kids will enjoy, like the classic and unforgettable Les Miserables or the new hit Wicked, a humorous and touching version of the Wizard of Oz featuring the young Wicked Witch of the West, who is ostracized by her peers because of her green skin.

You can expose your children to musical instruments by taking them to a local music store. There they can look at and learn about every kind of instrument, and even try some out. Most music store employees are experienced musicians themselves and are more than happy to demonstrate and share their knowledge with your kids. Lots of stores offer lessons too, so if your child shows an interest in a particular instrument, encourage him to try it. Instruments can be expensive, but lots of stores will allow you to “rent” an instrument by making manageable payments each month. You can always ask your friends or relatives if they have any instruments from their younger years that they’ll be willing to loan to your child. Lessons typically cost $15 each, and most kids do best with lessons once a week or once every two weeks. Music is a wonderful investment that can pay off big time – some colleges offer full scholarships for participating in a band even if your child isn’t majoring in music, and most colleges offer some kind of scholarship for musical accomplishment. The benefits to involving your child in music are endless and will last his entire life.