From the 16th week of intrauterine development, the baby hears sounds. During this period, he hears the sounds of the outside world very muffled, but his mother's voice, heartbeat, blood flow noise accompany him constantly. These sounds are woven into a real melody for the baby, which gives him comfort and a sense of security. It is from this moment that sounds begin to play a big role in the child's life, and this influence does not recede until the end of life. The sounds of music are especially important for mental and even physical development.
Music for the baby in the belly
Prenatal development experts are unanimous in the belief that a child should be introduced to music before birth. Babies begin to perceive the melody at about 16 weeks of gestation. (See Related: When Newborns Start Hearing). It is best to acquaint the baby with classical music: they are time-tested and certainly have a positive impact. Turning on the music, all mothers notice that the activity of the baby is changing: under some melodies he dies down, under others, on the contrary, he begins to actively move. The fact is that music greatly affects the emotional state: some melodies soothe, relax, others invigorate, cause a surge of activity.
Both calm and energetic music is useful for the development of the child: through it, he expands the range of experienced emotions. With the help of research, psychologists have proven that children who listened to classical music before birth develop better physically and mentally, learn different skills earlier and speak better.
By and large, expectant mothers can not be limited only to classical music and listen to everything that pleases them, but it is better to limit some areas of music. For example, rock music is believed to lead to heightened emotional arousal and provoke aggression. Children who "grew up" on this kind of music are distinguished by restless behavior and excitability.
Music from birth
After birth, music plays an even more important role in a child's life. Music acts on a newborn baby in much the same way as it did before birth: it sets his emotional background. During active wakefulness, you can turn on funny dynamic songs, before bedtime or during screams and whims - quiet calm melodies. True, if we talk about lullabies, it is definitely much better if mom sings it herself. Some of the mothers estimate their vocal abilities very low and prefer to include ready-made recordings so as not to form a bad ear for music in the child. These fears are in vain, because babies are the most grateful listeners, and the voice of their beloved mother is the most desirable melody for them. If singing really doesn't work out very well, you can just sing in a chant - this is already better than someone else's voice from the speaker.
The older the child becomes, the deeper and more comprehensive the influence the music has on him. In addition to developing the emotional sphere, music helps to develop motor skills. Even if you do not teach a child dance movements, when he learns to stand on his own two feet, his legs start dancing as soon as he hears his favorite song. Moreover, the child feels the rhythm very well and moves in accordance with the sound.
- Music very well influences the development of fantasy and imagination. Music not only evokes certain emotions, but visual images almost always arise after them. The child imagines the heroes of a piece of music, in his imagination there are pictures associated with a melody. The older the child, the brighter the images that arise. For children over 5-6 years old, "musical fantasies" are so characteristic that they are able to express them artistically - to draw a picture according to their favorite song.
- A very important aspect of the influence of music on a child's development is the formation of aesthetic taste. As we have already said, you can listen to absolutely any music with your child, but classical pieces of music must be included in the program. They are a kind of standard of sound and musical taste, universal for people of any age, gender and social status. In this regard, parents do not have to worry about the fact that classical music is too difficult for a child: that is why it is "classical" to be liked by any listener.
- In addition to classical music, the child should be introduced to folk music. Through her, he joins the culture of his people, and folk songs are generally a storehouse of wisdom and knowledge about the structure of the world. You can not only listen to folk music, but also play. If we talk about Russian folk instruments, then many of them are quite accessible to the kid: pipes, spoons, rattles.
Even if parents are not fans of folk music and do not gravitate towards folk musical instruments, children's musical instruments and toys must be in the house. It can be a tambourine, metallophone, children's synthesizer or any other instrument. The main criterion is good sound and accessibility for the child. Musical toys that make different sounds and play melodies are good for kids. For such toys, the main criterion is also the sound quality. These toys help develop auditory concentration skills.
Children over two years old are already able to memorize song lyrics. You don't even need to memorize them on purpose: listening and trying to sing along, the child memorizes the words and then pleases the parents with the first attempts at solo singing. Thus, music also affects the development of memory and speech.
For people living in the world of sounds, music is a means of relaxation, recuperation, increased efficiency, and overcoming stress. By introducing a child to music, we do not strive to grow a musician out of him (although some of the children really demonstrate good musical abilities from childhood that need to be developed), we only contribute to his all-round development. You should not expect any specific positive results from the kid's acquaintance with music, let it be a process for the sake of a process. The human psyche is so complex that you can never predict in advance when and in what situation the effect of previously heard works of Mozart or mother's lullabies will manifest.
We read further:
- What music is useful for newborns
- 10 facts about the benefits of music and sounds of nature for moms and babies;
- Influence of fairy tales on child development;
- How play affects child development;
- Gadgets and children (pros and cons of modern gadgets for child development).
