You’ve added a new bundle of joy to your family. Congratulations! Now it’s your job to raise them into capable and kind human beings.
This is a huge responsibility. Every parent wants to help their baby thrive, but with so much conflicting information on the internet, it’s hard to know what’s right.
Have you heard about classical music and its effect on infant intelligence? Is there actually a connection, or is it an old wive’s tale? Let’s talk about it.
Keep reading to learn all about whether or not there are any benefits of music for babies.
Where Did The Rumor Start?
The rumor about classical music improving the intelligence of babies seems to have originated in 1993 via a study on the Mozart Effect. It measured how classical music impacted the test scores of college students.
Future studies focused on preschool-age children who were doing basic tasks.
From this point forward, the word spread that classical music had a profound effect on the brains of children, but is it true?
So, Will, It Help Your Baby?
There isn’t much evidence to support the idea that classical music has a significant effect on a child’s intelligence.
The study that focused on college students indicated that classical music may have had a temporary effect on the ability to complete tests. For preschool-age children, classical music may have helped them complete their tasks.
That said, there’s no way to determine whether or not the results were based on natural variability or other outside factors. Children are also more successful after listening to other types of music or having stories read to them.
In other words, research suggests that while classical music might help a bit, it’s more likely that comforting sounds, in general, are the real answer.
What Helps More?
So if classical music isn’t the answer, you can take your Mozart CDs out of your baby backpack diaper bag. Now what? What will help your child develop?
If you still want to use music, encourage your growing child to pick up an instrument. Even getting baby toys that resemble instruments, like small keyboards and drums, may help them develop better hand-eye coordination and even language acquisition skills.
Children thrive with enrichment. Music is enriching, but so are other activities like games, drawing, reading stories, and even just speaking to your baby often (even before the baby learns how to talk).
In short, you can use classical music to help your baby, but it isn’t the end-all-be-all when it comes to future intelligence.
Enrich Your Baby’s Life (With or Without Classical Music)
Sure, classical music might help your baby’s IQ, but so will music for babies, children’s books, and even games and other activities. Don’t feel pressured to have your baby listen to classical music if it doesn’t appeal to you (or them).
Pay attention to your baby and make sure that you do a lot of activities with them. That’s how you help the baby grow!
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