Will Classical Music Really Help Your Newborn’s Development?

musicIt’s true that music can be helpful in soothing your new baby to sleep, and may even help in calming a crying baby, however you may have read that there are several other things such as music and in particular classical music can do for your baby and its development.

The sense of hearing is the first to develop in the fetus and the baby soon starts to hear sounds while still in the womb.

By the time the child is actually born, it may already be familiar with certain sounds such as the mother’s voice of course, but even may find certain tunes and musical compositions more agreeable than others. Witness how a baby will quiet down more easily with a particular music piece rather than another.

Research has shown that there exists a phenomenon called the Mozart Effect. The results of a study showed that listening to classical compositions by arguably the most famous classical music composer of all time was seen to improve performance of certain mental tasks in the short term.

In conjunction with this Mozart effect, or perhaps as a seemingly logical conclusion from it, was born the theory that listening to classical music somehow makes you smarter and that making your infant child listen to it will also help in developing the child’s brain faster and better.

A lot of agencies started to contribute to this theory and in Georgia it was mandated that every baby that left the hospital would do so along with a CD that contained Mozart’s sonata.

However strong the popular support for this theory that classical music makes babies smarter, this is not something that is supported by scientific research. While the Mozart effect could likely help the brain tackle mathematical tasks a little better temporarily, it is generally seen as unlikely that the effect of the music could actually enhance brain development of a fetus or child.

Having said this, classical music can be beneficial in other ways; it can create a relaxing and positive environment which will foster better learning; create an atmosphere more conducive to concentration or creativity.

If one finds that their baby is better able to sleep[baby sleep] with classical music, or that it is actually able to soothe baby to sleep, all the better!

Also by exposing a baby to good music early on in life, you may be able to mold your child’s musical tastes early in life, and he or she may end up with good taste in music even later in life!

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