We all want to see our kids develop to their full potential but we also know that trying to drill lessons into their heads will only lead to boredom. It is scientifically proven that kids will learn more when they are having fun and thankfully, there are several options out there that can lead to brain development while your kid is having a ball.
Take music as a great example. Music has been proven to alleviate stress and boost a person’s mood. Even sad songs will help someone going through a difficult time. Music should be a key component for your child’s brain development. It should fill your home with harmony and get everyone to sing along. Even better is if you have a personalized music CD with your child’s name featured to make the musical experience more special and memorable.
Music Activates Every Part of the Brain
More than triggering the auditory areas, music gets other known areas in the brain to start working. Researchers have found that music triggers the motor areas in the brain and this is why music and movement are closely connected. The limbic areas — associated with emotions — have also been found to be “involved in rhythm and tonality processing,” a trigger that is said to lead to mind-wandering and creativity.
One of the researchers of this study, Prof. Petri Toiviainen, spoke about the key connections between music and brain development, saying: “Our results show for the first time how different musical features activate emotional, motor, and creative areas of the brain.” Now imagine taking the musical experience of your child to another level by having a personalized music CD call out their name, creating a profound connection between the two.
Music Boosts Memory
Many students enjoy listening to music while they study. In fact, researchers have found that music releases dopamine in the brain — the “feel good” neurotransmitter, thus promoting better learning.
It’s not just any music, however. Researchers found that it must be music that person enjoys. Accordingly, when you are choosing the playlist for your kid, go for music your child will love. If your kid is into Sesame Street, then you can have one of the characters sing out your child’s name through a personalized music CD to really engage them.
Music Helps With Literacy
Listening to music is such an ostensibly simple act, but your kid’s brain will be fine tuning key skills for literacy. Music will help your kid learn about different rhythms and notes. When your child is at the reading age, your kid will find it easier to “identify different sounds that make up words.” Music will make your child better able to remember details and responses. It will make your kid’s brain more able to “organize and make sense of sound” which is also a key skill for literacy.
Music encourages engagement, attention, and response, in other words, active participation, which is required during reading time. Moreover, when singing, your kid is learning new words and how to communicate, for an easier learning experience later.
Start Early
Music is a key component for your child’s brain development and it should be introduced early on. Researchers conducting a study on 9-month-old babies during music play sessions have found that “early, engaging musical experiences can have a more global effect on cognitive skills.”
The best part of music is that it creates a sense of joy and ease quite effortlessly for both kids and us, as parents. We have science now to back up the fact that we don’t need to do much to start our kid’s brain development on a solid foot. All it takes is the songs they love and having those songs involve their name through a personalized music CD will only make the musical experience that much more effective.