Musical beginnings: a parent’s view
The benefits of music for babies are well-documented, but the proof is in the pudding, writes Gwen Lardner. This is her personal account of how music has influenced her son’s life. Despite initial scepticism and some early setbacks, she is now convinced of the positive impact music can have from an early age.
Before Louis was born I could scrape through the first verse of ‘Row your Boat’ and the first few lines of other classics like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’, but that was about the size of it. Eighteen months on and I can sing enough songs and nursery rhymes to fill a bonus- length CD and can perform all the actions with the best of them!
I had read about the benefits of music for babies when I was pregnant and as a conscientious first-time mother, I made the effort to sing to a newborn Louis whenever I remembered.
In those early days, a bedtime lullaby was about the extent of Louis’ exposure to music, but as we became settled into more of a routine, I discovered that singing was a way to distract him. It took a while, but gradually he began to show signs of appreciation and would give a little smile or kick his legs.
This gave me the encouragement to take him to a music class for babies in a local library. Although this provided a new and safe environment for him to roam around in, the quality of the experience was variable. Louis enjoyed playing/chewing the percussion instruments, but the singing didn’t engage him and he would often crawl off to gnaw on some books. We soon gave up the weekly class in favour of other more stimulating activities like swimming.
It was only when I heard through a friend about a weekly session in another local library that Louis and I began to really enjoy music together. The two men that run this particular singalong are lively, entertaining and genuinely enjoy what they are doing.
Through this class we have learnt a huge array of songs and accompanying actions. This includes songs from other countries and cultures.
As soon as he started walking at 13 months, Louis started to show signs of responding to music by way of movement. He obviously has an inherent desire to respond to music in this way, without him ever being made consciously aware that this is what people do.
Over the last few months his response has evolved from a subtle nod of the head and bouncing knees, to a great variety of full-on dance moves. This level of intense concentration is what intrigues me most as the movement appears to be a well-considered form of self-expression as opposed to him just larking around.
Research has shown that babies and very young children have an intrinsic inner musicianship which is built upon the child's ability to recognise the rhythms and melodies of language. They can first recognise and later copy the rhymes and songs that they hear. This is seen by researchers as a fundamental intelligence and key to the development of spoken language in very young children. It has also been proven however, that this musical ability can disappear at a young age if not nurtured and developed.
Youth Music has launched a campaign aimed at parents of 0-5 year olds, advocating the benefits of music-making for their children and giving them advice about how to access free musical activities in their area (see the Bongo Club section of the website). The charity strongly believes that encouraging musical activity in young children will enhance their ability to be creative in many other endeavours in later life.
It is encouraging to hear about these proven effects of music on a child’s development, but to me, it is an important part of Louis’ life, not just because of the educational benefits, but because it obviously gives him such enjoyment. He absolutely delights in listening to and responding to music and it is a welcome alternative to him watching TV. Now if the telly is on he will go and hover by the stereo, pleading with me with his non-word commands to turn it on.
Thinking about it rationally, babies and children are no different to adults in the sense that music can dramatically alter their mood. Louis is no angel and when he is whinging or tired, we use music to lift his spirits or distract him. He may not understand when I tell him for the umpteenth time not to bash the paintwork with his dad’s golf club, but he certainly understands when I start up with those magic words…..“Row, Row, Row Your Boat”.
Youth Music
Youth Music exists to facilitate and fund high quality and diverse musical experiences for young people up to the age of 18, particularly those living in areas of social and economic need.
