Music has been one of the greatest therapy tools that experts have been using to communicate with children of all ages effectively. It has been known to have many benefits to children not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually.
In this article, we will give you five of those health benefits in detail and how music can affect your child even more positively if used in a much more controlled and constant environment.
It is a Great Relaxation Technique
First, your child will benefit from music in terms of being able to relax. By listening to his favorite tunes, he’s able to focus more and clear his mind. The notes that he hears help the brain create a clear path to much more sound thoughts and concepts in his head.
Music helps shut down the central nervous system for a bit which helps the body escape tension even just for a few minutes. A relaxed body can move better and become more pliable down the line.
Music can also drown out background noise, especially in the head. However, not all musical pieces or instruments can do this effectively. You have to make sure that you let your child listen to soothing tunes. This way, you can be sure that music will sharpen his focus, and he will be able to think and decide more clearly after each session.
Classical music usually does the trick as part of modern relaxation therapies.
It Promotes Physical Development
Secondly, playing a musical instrument and listening to it can help your child develop physically. Studies have shown that some young children learn to walk faster if they listen to music regularly. In addition to this, their brains become more developed in the womb if the parents allow them to listen to soothing music.
In terms of physical development, music can help via training the muscles to respond to the cadence of the songs. For example, if you are a parent or guardian to a young child, you can teach him to walk to the beat of his f song. Dancing also helps further develop a child’s physicality.
Allow him to take each slow step to the rhythm of each beat. This way, his body will get used to moving faster and faster until he doesn’t need the music to move anymore. He can hum the rhythm in his head and take each step silently.
Playing an instrument can also promote dexterity in the fingers. Depending on the size and weight of the instrument, handling it can also be good for strength training.
It Improves the Child’s Mental State
It is also a well-known fact that music can help the child develop, mentally. This concept is true, especially for children with developmental handicaps. As mentioned earlier, music and sharpen the focus of the child so much so that he would be able to concentrate more on what he has to do rather than what he wants to do.
In addition to this, music helps them develop critical thinking in the sense that he can identify the different notes in a simple musical piece. He’s able to learn language through music. Using repetition, the child will learn to form words and eventually mimic the notes that he hears with his voice.
If his primary caregiver likes to sing to him, chances are he would also recognize the caregiver’s voice as well. This type of recognition trains his brain to look for similar patterns and other sounds within the environment.
It Relieves Stress and Emotional Tension
In connection with the first benefit, music, and help relieve stress and emotional tension by helping the body relax. Depending on the musical pieces that a child usually hears, it helps his or her mind wander to a more peaceful place and concept. By playing an instrument, the child learns to forget everything that is happening around him and focus on the beautiful sound that each note makes.
When this happens, he or she may be able to discover the solutions to his problems and eventually resolve them down the line, relieving his tension and stress.
Music can also help with pain relief. As mentioned earlier, it is all about making the body forget the pain. If the brain learns to focus its sensors into much more pleasant things, the body will work also forget to focus on the pain that it feels which will contributes to the eventual healing of the patient whether a child or an adult.
It Helps a Child Become More Sociable
It also provides a child with an opportunity to bond with other people. Have you ever experienced singing around the bonfire during camping? Or listening to a relative of yours sing in front of your family members whenever there’s a reunion?
Aside from learning to appreciate the beauty of one’s talent, children who grew up in musical families tend to become more socially adept. They can interact with other people without feeling embarrassed or ashamed of what might happen before it even does.
Additionally, children who love performing for family members tend to become more confident in front of large crowds. The training then helps them become better individuals in terms of connecting with other people.
Conclusion
According to a 2016 study conducted off at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute, music as a whole is beneficial in terms of helping hasten children’s brain development. It prepares them for school and learning at such an early age and helps them grow into a much more social environment that will increase their maturity over time.
With this information on hand, you should not hesitate to use music as a tool to improve your child’s health and wellness. You will never regret doing so.
Courtesy of Lydia Lee
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