10 Reasons Why Music is Important for Children (and Adults)

It’s no secret that music is a huge part of our lives. We listen to it while we drive, work, and relax. But what many people don’t realize is just how beneficial music can be for children. Here are 10 reasons why music is so important for kids!

Music can help children learn new information more quickly and easily.

When a child listens to music they enjoy, the brain releases dopamine and oxytocin. These neurotransmitters help with memory and social bonding, respectively. Therefore, music is excellent for helping kids learn new information more quickly and with greater ease!

It’s been proven that children retain information better when the subject is taught with music. This includes both music they already know and new songs and music. So when teaching your child about shapes, colors, or numbers, consider using music to enhance their learning.

Children who sing along with their favorite songs show significantly faster acquisition of new information than those who don’t. And children who are exposed to music at home learn better language skills than those who aren’t.

Music helps develop your child’s brain!

If you don’t expose your child to music, you’re doing them a disservice. Because the benefits of musical exposure are not just educational – they’re neurological! The various parts of the brain responsible for memory, emotions, and creativity are all activated by music. This is why children who play an instrument or sing show greater development in these areas.

While playing music, both children and adults use many different parts of their brains. For example, the auditory cortex is activated when they listen to music. This part of the brain processes sound. The frontal cortex is activated when individuals imagine how they’d perform a song if they sang it.

This part of the brain is stimulated when we plan how to do something. The parietal cortex also shows the activity as individuals process various elements of a song. This part of the brain integrates sensory information and processes spatial awareness.

And there’s more: music helps the brain find patterns and develop its processing speed while also enhancing the development of neural connections.

Music helps children express themselves.

Kids who play instruments find it easier to express themselves verbally because they’re accustomed to communicating through sound. Later on in life, this equips them with excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills – an important life skill that can help them excel at school and in their careers as adults.

This is also the reason why kids who play instruments typically perform better in school. It’s been found that children who play a musical instrument usually score significantly better in certain other subjects, including math and science, compared to their musically-untrained peers ¹.

It’s also the reason why children who sing show better performance in verbal tests. And kids who learn to play a musical instrument typically have greater control over their thoughts and emotions.

Every music lesson enhances your child’s language skills. Kids who play a musical instrument or sing also learn how to be more creative with words. Those who play a musical instrument had greater verbal fluency than their non-playing peers ².

Your child becomes more creative and more social.

Exposure to music helps children become more sensitive to sound and how it relates to others. They also develop better motor skills as they learn how to dance, play instruments, and even work as a team. They’re also more social because they can relate to others through music.

For children who sing, brain scans show increased activity in the area of the brain responsible for processing “self-other” distinctions – the ability to differentiate oneself from others. In other words, children learn how they can be unique individuals while also sharing a common experience with others.

This is the reason why children who sing show greater consciousness of other people. They’re more aware and receptive to others’ feelings and expressions.

Music can help improve children’s spatial skills.

Yes, music helps with spatial skills – not just math! Children who play a musical instrument have a better awareness of objects in three-dimensional space. They’re also better at understanding how to manipulate those objects without affecting others that may surround them.

The spatial ability helps children read maps and understand how shapes fit together. Research has shown that children who frequently sing songs that contain spatial references (e.g., “Ring Around the Rosie”) lead to more significant development of their mental rotation skills – an aspect of spatial ability ³.

Experiencing music also enhances a child’s sense of timing. This is why kids who play music are generally better at sports that require good timing, like baseball, tennis, and even ice hockey.

The benefits of music lessons aren’t limited to your kids. Regularly playing or listening to music can also help you become healthier and happier!

Music improves kids’ mental health and sleeps better.

Several studies have shown that regular musical engagement has a significant and positive impact on children’s mental health ⁴.

Music helps children express their emotions, often providing them with an outlet for those intense feelings. It can help them deal with anger, sadness, and frustration constructively.

Music also helps kids sleep better – a task that’s not as easy as it sounds. Many kids have trouble sleeping because of the many distractions from technology and other aspects of modern life.

Many kids have a harder time falling asleep because their brains are still wired to pay attention to the many distractions from technology and other aspects of modern life. But music helps the brain relax and tune out these distractions, making it easier for children to fall asleep faster.

Playing or listening to music can also help kids focus better and boost brain development.

In addition to helping children grow socially, studies have found that musical engagement enhances brain development ⁵, particularly in the areas of memory and focus.

By engaging in music at an early age, children develop stronger auditory skills that can help them later in life as they learn to read and better comprehend what they’re reading. It also helps them with their memory and focus, which are essential skills in school.

For example, playing music requires children to focus on specific tasks. They have to learn how to play their instrument, read the notes on sheet music, and use both hands independently. This focus helps them concentrate better when they’re doing their homework or studying for a test.

Music also helps kids find their inner strengths and build self-esteem.

Yes, music helps kids build self-esteem. This is because playing or listening to a musical instrument encourages them to work on their strengths and be more confident. Plus, music helps them to see that they have something unique to offer the world – a trait that boosts self-esteem.

With every musical instrument your child learns to play, they discover that they can do many things with their own hands and mind. It encourages them to take a positive view of themselves and what they can accomplish.

Music is the perfect way to help your child discover who they are and their passions. It enables them to find their inner strengths, talents, and unique qualities to channel these towards a more fulfilling future.

Music helps kids learn foreign languages.

Yes, music helps kids learn foreign languages. Not only does singing songs in a foreign language help children better understand it, but it might also help their brains better learn and understand the intricacies of a foreign language.

The proper pronunciation of a language’s sounds often relies on mimicry – an ability that musical training enhances. Music can help kids learn languages faster and become more fluent in them and speak with greater clarity.

Research has shown that when children learn a language by engaging in meaningful dialogue – such as singing songs together – the learning process becomes easier ⁶.

Music can help children who suffer from physical and mental disabilities.

Kids who play a musical instrument or sing regularly benefit greatly in their academic and social lives, but music can also help children who suffer from physical or mental disabilities.

For instance, children with physical delays have improved their fine and gross motor skills by playing a musical instrument. At the same time, those who struggle with mental disabilities can benefit from music that has been created especially for them ⁷.

Engaging in music at an early age is one of the best ways to help children develop and grow positively and healthily. So why not introduce your child to music? Who knows, they might thank you for it in the future!

Conclusion.

Music is a very valuable tool for kids to use. Music helps kids learn skills that will help them in their academic and social lives for the rest of their lives. Music can also help kids learn a second language with relative ease which can be very helpful in the globalized world we’re living in today. The next time you’re looking for a good activity to do with your child, consider exposing them to music. You may be surprised at how much you will help their development and help them to grow.

I hope you liked it! And remember, even if it’s just one song that you and your child like to sing together as a family, the impact is there.

Thanks again for reading!