Playing music with toddlers could benefit their development even more than shared reading, and helps get them ready for school, according to University of Queensland research. Their recent study has shown that music participation at home improves numeracy, prosocial skills and attention over and above the effects of shared book reading.
One of the study leaders and Head of UQ’s School of Music Professor Margaret Barrett said parents were asked to report on shared music activities when their child was two to three years old and a range of social, emotional and cognitive outcomes were measured two years later, when the child was four or five. “The study highlights that informal music education in early childhood is a vital tool for supporting the cognitive and social development of children,” said Professor Barrett.
The study is part of an Australian Research Council funded study ‘Being and becoming musical: towards a cultural ecological model of early musical development’. It aims to provide a comprehensive account of how Australian families use music in their parenting practices and make recommendations for policy and practice in childcare and early learning and development.
SOURCE:
University of Queensland: https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2015/09/jamming-toddlers-trumps-hitting-books
DETAILS:
| BENEFIT: | ATTENTION, NUMERACY & SOCIAL SKILLS |
| TARGET GROUP: | TODDLERS |
| AGE: | 2-5 YEARS |
| MUSIC TYPE: | GENERAL |
| TYPE OF STUDY: | ACADEMIC RESEARCH |
| NOs INVOLVED: | 3,000 |
| PERIOD OF STUDY: | 2 YEARS |
| DATE: | 2015 |
| PLACE: | AUSTRALIA |
Music Education Works 