Have you sung to your child to restrain him/her? 

Have you made up a song to entertain him/her while you change his/her diapers? 

Did you sing a lullaby before going to sleep? 

Do you have a favorite song?

From early childhood, it is common to create a bond with our sons and daughters through music. Songs become part of our daily lives and protagonists of our relationship with our children. 

In ancient rituals, music and movement are associated with their effectiveness in regulating disturbing emotions. They are ways of chasing away fear and anxiety in the face of the unknown in the world, the disappearance of attachment figures, or even the fragility of a baby. 

We share with you 6 benefits of music for your child's development:

1. Emotional containment: lays the foundation for sensitivity and supports them in learning to regulate their emotions.
2. Language: It is a fun and emotional way to learn new words.
3. Aesthetic appreciation: music is literary, it creates worlds and plays with rhythms and words. The artistic experience is already present at this stage! 
4. Motor development: motivates them to explore their body with dances and movements.
5. Communication: stimulates the expression of ideas around songs, their lyrics and message.
6. Social skills: allows them to connect with others through the singing, playing and dancing that music provides.

Sharing a song, attending a concert, dancing and singing a melody together can be a significant experience both in your child's development and in his/her relationship with you and the world. 

Source: Keynote Lecture "Adventures and misadventures of the relationship between poetic orality and parenting" by María Emilia López (Argentina). Seminar on Mediation of Readings and Identities in Early Childhood. IBBY Latin America and the Caribbean (2021).

And you, how do you enjoy music with your baby?