Saturday, March 29, 2008

How Music Can Make Your Child Smarter - Even Before Birth

By M. Kabel

While accepted more or less as innovative fact for decades, new medical research is beginning to verify the use of music in stimulating the growth process of unborn children.

Parents who play music for their child in utero or during early infancy encourage the child's early mental thought processes, giving the child's mind some gentle nurturing that begins even before conventional education is possible. Music stimulates the mind and encourages its abilities to predict and answer logical sequences. For children, this can translate directly into helping engender problem-solving skills.

What to play for your child

The music played for the child often represents the type of effect that parents desire. For example, playing classical music often has a soothing effect thanks to its gentle melodies and complex arrangements.

New evidence suggests babies remember and react positively to music played for them, too. A recent study by Britain's Leicester University showed children responded equally well to classical, pop, and reggae music styles. Expectant mothers were invited to choose a type of music to play in a comfortable setting. A year later, their babies responded more favorably to the songs they remembered, compared to similar pieces of music.

Researchers in the study also believe children react to the pace of the music more than its type. The music's complexity is important, too, since more complex pieces offer more challenging potential for the child's mind to understand.

When not to overdo it.

However, many child experts warn that playing too much music can cause the nursery child to become over stimulated and simply stop attempting to understand the music played for them. An over-stimulated, bored child will exhibit the same signs of impatience as adults - shiftless movements, looking around the room, and preoccupation with other things. That's when it's time, doctors say, to give the music a rest for a while.

How to find music for your child.

There are dozens of albums on the market that are specially designed for children, in many different musical styles. A number of combination speakers, night-light, and plush animal combinations are also available for the nursery.

Corner Stork Baby Gifts presents this article as part of our ongoing commitment to better family health. We proudly carry a complete selection of baby gift ideas including many musical baby gifts to continue your baby's brain development after birth such as musical baby socks, musical teddy bears, musical rockers and many more including hundreds of unique baby gifts. Visit us online at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com.

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