The Surprising Benefit of Moving and Grooving with Your Kid

Turning up the music and dancing with your kid can be more than fun. The impact on your kid’s development can be big and far-reaching. Read on to find out why shaking your booty with your child is a must!

Music increases a toddler’s sensory development.
Music aids a child’s sensory development. Exposing your child to different kinds of music can help create more pathways between the cells in their brains. This increases even more when music is linked to different activities, such as dancing.

Music gives your child cues.
Music can be used to indicate play time, sleep time, or different moments in your child’s daily schedule. Many parents tuck their children in with a lullaby or calm them down with a song. It can also be used to indicate clean up time or the end of a play date.

Music can improve literacy and numeracy.
From an early age, babies can hear the difference between different types of sounds. After just a few weeks, a baby is able to distinguish her mother’s voice from other people’s. Exposure to music can enhance a child’s ability to decode sounds and words.

Music helps toddlers build coordination.
Listening to a song helps kids learn to tune into the rhythm of the music. You may have already noticed your child dancing to certain songs or liking certain pieces of music more than others. Expose them to a variety of music and see if they are inspired by a particular genre. Have fun exploring your options!

Music encourages children’s inclination to move, developing their fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
Give them a toy drum or other homemade musical instruments, and dance with them. They will try to mimic your moves, which can help them with their hand-eye coordination and exercising their clutch grip. If the rhythm is very apparent, you may even notice your toddler starting to jump up and down, which helps with their muscle development, strength and balance.

There’s nothing quite like seeing your child free of inhibitions, dancing to music. So next time your child is inspired, turn up the volume and join in the fun.