The Influences of Music on Child Development: Beyond the Mozart Effect

You’ve probably heard that listening to music, specifically Mozart’s music, makes young children smarter. Obviously, this statement isn’t quite on-target, but there might be some substance to the idea that music positively affects children’s brain development. Two recent research studies on the topic of music in child development give us some helpful information that spans the spectrum of professional thought on the subject. So even though that “Young Mozart” CD won’t make your child more intelligent, you might want to hang onto it for other reasons.

Mood, Arousal, and Cognitive Ability

In a study conducted by psychologists at Canadian and Japanese universities, two experiments showed that the effects of music on “intelligence” are really due to individuals’ emotional reactions. Mood and arousal, the two components of emotion, are directly influenced by music – rhythm and other factors determine the degree of arousal, or engagement, as well as the positive or negative quality of a person’s mood. For example, the first experiment with adults showed that the auditory stimulus of hearing a story had the same positive impact on an IQ subtest as listening to classical music (Mozart and Albinoni). The subjects were similarly affected by both music and stories, implying that a heightened level of engagement and elevated mood were the factors behind their increased cognitive ability.

The second experiment in this study analyzed 5-year-old Japanese children’s drawing abilities for temporal length of engagement, creativity, energy, and technical proficiency, comparing children who listened to Mozart and Albinoni to a different group that listened to children’s songs. The group that heard children’s songs was judged to be superior in drawing ability, demonstrating that engagement and mood were the determining factors in drawing success.

Depending on your child’s age, he or she may be more responsive to a positive stimulus that’s more similar to children’s songs or stories than classical music. However, any music with an upbeat rhythm and major tonality tends to elevate mood and aid concentration.

Musical Training and Neuroplasticity

This study showed that after fifteen months of training on a musical instrument, children’s neuroplasticity increased significantly. In other words, musical training positively affected their brains’ ability to adapt to environmental conditions and stimuli. Specifically, these children’s motor abilities and auditory melodic and rhythmic discrimination skills improved noticeably as compared to those of children who did not receive musical instruction. The researchers who conducted the study judged that early musical training could effectively predict adult expertise – and not just in music. By increasing the brain’s plasticity at a young age, it was found that the brain could more readily adapt to changes throughout life, enabling trained individuals to develop expertise.

According to this study, it’s not enough to simply have your child listen to music. Interactive lessons are necessary to obtain increased neuroplasticity; however, having your child listen to upbeat music may improve cognitive ability. With a combination of both, you’ll be sure to give your child the best intellectual opportunities and encourage healthy development.

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Guest Post: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where recently she's been researching different music degree programs and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

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Is My Child Behind in His Development?

By Brandon

As parents, we are almost constantly comparing our child to someone else's child (or even to our own children who have already gone through that phase of life), and there always seems to be something to fret about. Are you worried that your child isn't saying enough words yet, or isn't walking and he's already a year old? These are common concerns, especially for new parents.

In my undergraduate and graduate training (and as a parent) I have learned that all of these milestones, as they are called, should really be taken "with a grain of salt." Your child is unique, and although I am glad that researchers took the time to examine 'what is normal development' this results in average time frames, where very few children actually fit exactly the time frames that the development textbooks mention. Ok, so now you can calm down. (Note: If your child is far past what the milestones say then this may be cause for concern, and you should talk with your pediatrician.)

Recently, researchers have come to realize that we cannot only describe the 'normal' progression of infant and child development by time frames and say that this is a universal truth. Instead, Thelen (1995) for example wrote a piece entitled "Motor Development: A New Synthesis" which appeared in American Psychologist (a prominent scholarly journal). This author explains that motor development (which is typically what we parents talk about, i.e., "Yay! Johnny is walking now!" and "Oh! I had to baby-proof the house, because Amber is crawling!", etc.) is caused by a variety of factors (i.e., "multicausal").

I will not go into all of the technicalities, but basically there is no "innate" quality in your child of crawling, walking, reaching, etc. All of these 'milestones' as we call them come about through exploration and selection. The first step for your child is for him to "discover" movements that get him "into the ball park" that the task demands--"a tentative crawl or a shaky few steps" (p. 86). Then, gradually your child will tune this new movement through repetition of action and perception of the consequences. For example, early in infancy your baby may flail his arms instead of grabbing the toy next to him, but this random flailing gradually becomes more and more fine tuned as he realizes what it takes to make his arms function in grabbing the toy. (In the figure below, imagine the square as being an infant and the circle as a toy. Then, the black lines are the infant's attempts at grabbing the toy. Over time, the infant tunes this motor skill. For instance, notice the concentration of lines toward the toy over time. Pardon my paint drawing skills.).
Instead of an innate quality in the brain that determines that your baby will reach correctly at a certain age it is just that we as human beings have bodies that are all similar enough that we all come to the similar conclusions on the best way to reach (or walk--for instance, the author mentions that if we were on the moon we would likely all come to the conclusion that jumping was the best way to get around, and thus it would appear that jumping is innate around a certain age, even though it is not innate).

Seeing development this way would account for individual differences in "activity levels, body build and proportion, neural growth, [etc.]...Infants, in a sense, do the best they can with what they have. Nonetheless, because humans also share anatomy and common biomechanical and task constraints, solutions to common motor problems also converge: We all discover walking rather than hopping (although our gait styles are individual and unique)" (p. 91).

Another key thing to understand is that your child will develop when he is ready and motivated to do that particular thing (although not denying that there are constraints like being physically strong enough to walk, etc.). If your child has no desire to walk, then he will most likely not put forth the effort required to gain that motor skill. These milestones come about from individual motivation, not from "prespecified genetic instructions" (p. 86). Put another way, "The process is self-organizing because...what is needed to get the process going are only sufficient spontaneous and exploratory movements and some general [motivational value] for the infant...There is no genetic plan" (p. 91).

This is a very different view from the traditional developmental milestones view. Generally, parenting packets, textbooks, websites, etc. will tell you that your child should be doing things by a specific age, but really there is a wide range in individual development as children explore their world and slowly fine tune their movements.

Feel free to leave comments and questions.

Thelen, E. (1995). Motor development: A new synthesis. American Psychologist, 50 (2), 79-95 DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.50.2.79

Image: Clare Bloomfield / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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The Development of Self-Esteem: Parenting Behaviours That Boost a Child's Self Worth

By: Dyan Eybergen, BA, RN

The development of self-esteem begins during infancy and is primarily built from positive interactions children have with their parents.

The development of a child's self-esteem unfolds with the perceptions of those closest to them (parents, siblings or caregivers) and then expands, as the child gets older, to outside the nuclear family. Children will internalize the feelings and experiences they encounter through these relationships and incorporate them into a definition of who they are. When they experience affirmative relationships, children will build confidence in their own merit as individual people.

It is imperative then, that parents, being the first point of relationship contact for a child, set the groundwork for the development of a healthy self-esteem. Parents can facilitate this process by exhibiting 4 basic behaviours to their children on a consistent basis.

Support for Children

Parents provide a safe haven for children where they come to express their dreams and aspirations, their fears and their failures and know that their parents will listen. It is a place of retreat when things go wrong. Children will know that their parents' "place" offers a supportive framework that they can lean on, gather strength and be encouraged to carry on.

Parents Empower Children

As children grow parents bestow onto them more and more autonomy and authorize a sense of independence. From learning to tie their own shoes to driving a car, parents instill confidence in their children to try new things and tackle chores and problems on their own. Parents recognize their children's strengths and highlight them so children begin to use their strengths to make decisions and choose career paths that are right for them.

Unconditional Love From Parents

Parents continue to demonstrate and communicate their adoration for their children, no matter what their children have done. Parents see their child’s mis-behaviour as opportunities for their child to learn and grow. Parents help misbehaved children learn from their mistakes, guide them to make amends for their wrong doing and help them to choose appropriate behaviours the next time.

Faith in a Child's Capabilities

Parents trust that their children will learn right from wrong. As their children grow, parents give them opportunities to exercise problem solving and negotiation skills. Parents set their children up for social and academic success based on individual character strengths and allow their children to make mistakes and learn from them. Parents communicate trust and belief in their children’s ability to succeed, right from learning to feed independently, to taking their first steps, to going off to university.

Through a consistent showing of these parenting behaviours, children get positive reinforcement of specific self-esteem attributes. Children who receive support are strengthened; those who are empowered feel encouraged; children who know unconditional love learn to love themselves and when children know that their parents have faith in them, they are fulfilled as a human beings.

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The Development of Self-Esteem: Parenting Behaviours That Boost a Child's Self Worth

By: Dyan Eybergen, BA, RN

The development of self-esteem begins during infancy and is primarily built from positive interactions children have with their parents.

The development of a child's self-esteem unfolds with the perceptions of those closest to them (parents, siblings or caregivers) and then expands, as the child gets older, to outside the nuclear family. Children will internalize the feelings and experiences they encounter through these relationships and incorporate them into a definition of who they are. When they experience affirmative relationships, children will build confidence in their own merit as individual people.

It is imperative then, that parents, being the first point of relationship contact for a child, set the groundwork for the development of a healthy self-esteem. Parents can facilitate this process by exhibiting 4 basic behaviours to their children on a consistent basis.

Support for Children

Parents provide a safe haven for children where they come to express their dreams and aspirations, their fears and their failures and know that their parents will listen. It is a place of retreat when things go wrong. Children will know that their parents' "place" offers a supportive framework that they can lean on, gather strength and be encouraged to carry on.

Parents Empower Children

As children grow parents bestow onto them more and more autonomy and authorize a sense of independence. From learning to tie their own shoes to driving a car, parents instill confidence in their children to try new things and tackle chores and problems on their own. Parents recognize their children's strengths and highlight them so children begin to use their strengths to make decisions and choose career paths that are right for them.

Unconditional Love From Parents

Parents continue to demonstrate and communicate their adoration for their children, no matter what their children have done. Parents see their child’s mis-behaviour as opportunities for their child to learn and grow. Parents help misbehaved children learn from their mistakes, guide them to make amends for their wrong doing and help them to choose appropriate behaviours the next time.

Faith in a Child's Capabilities

Parents trust that their children will learn right from wrong. As their children grow, parents give them opportunities to exercise problem solving and negotiation skills. Parents set their children up for social and academic success based on individual character strengths and allow their children to make mistakes and learn from them. Parents communicate trust and belief in their children’s ability to succeed, right from learning to feed independently, to taking their first steps, to going off to university.

Through a consistent showing of these parenting behaviours, children get positive reinforcement of specific self-esteem attributes. Children who receive support are strengthened; those who are empowered feel encouraged; children who know unconditional love learn to love themselves and when children know that their parents have faith in them, they are fulfilled as a human beings.

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