The Importance of Music for Children

Library Notes

Erika Kosin

            Have you ever noticed how much young children gravitate to music?  Did you know that by listening to music with your child at an early age you are helping them develop essential pre-literacy skills?  

 Researchers have found that music is linked to increased phonological awareness, language development, vocabulary, problem solving, reasoning and recall which enables your child to develop  the basic skills necessary to become better readers and learners.

            Early on, children learn from listening to their parents talk to each other or other adults.  When they listen to music they are listening to new words and vocabulary that they might not hear from their parents.  Toddler music, such as “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, fosters the ability for children to actively listen and follow instructions, an important skill needed when they start school.  The benefits of music at this age extends to math as well.  Many toddler songs feature numbers and counting, such as “The Ants Go Marching” or “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”.  The rhythm and beat of the music invites a child to clap hands, stamp feet and use rhythm instruments while encouraging the development of pre-math skills. 

            The art of music is very similar to story telling.   Songs follows a story line and usually have a chorus and/or repetitive phrases  that encourage children to sing along and become active participants.   Singing is one of the best ways for children to play with sounds and develop phonological awareness.  Singing provides an opportunity for children to manipulate sounds by blending them together and breaking them apart.  Hearing and understanding sound is a crucial component of becoming a good reader.  These are just a few reasons why music is such an integral part of story time at the Rowan Public Library.  We  incorporate fun and exciting ways to sing our favorite books.  It is amazing how many stories can be sung to the tune  of the “Farmer in the Dell” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.   Did you realize that the tune for the  “Alphabet Song” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” are one and the same?

            Here at the Rowan Public Library, we encourage parents to develop a routine of reading books and singing songs with their child on a daily basis.    The Children’s Room offers a small collection of toddler and baby music for checkout.  Bottom line, pop-in one of your child’s favorite music CD’s while driving down the road and bask in the assurance that you are helping your child in their journey to become a reader and a life long learner.