Help Your Child Develop an Interest in Music

The music your child loves, and the music you don't – consider why you should give your child's iPod playlist a chance.

What You Need to Know 

As children become preteens, their musical interest turns to:

• what other children are listening to
• what they hear through the radio and other popular media
• searching for her own musical style.

Encouraging involvement in positive activities that support healthy interests can help your preteen:

• discover new things about himself that define and shape who he is
• develop self-esteem and confidence
• build relationships with friends who share the same interests.

Even if they're not interests you share, your appreciation, encouragement and praise mean a lot to your child.

How You Can Help

Music can be very personal and defining, so help your child discover a musical style and taste that is truly her own by exposing her to some sounds she might not have encountered otherwise – even some you don't necessarily love: jazz, classic rock, blues, disco, rap, hip hop, opera, and whatever suits your own taste.

• Talk about the music you like and why, and have your child help you understand the music she likes.
• Listen to the music together. Give it a chance in the car ride sometimes, don't just limit the music she likes to behind her closed bedroom door or within her blasting headphones.
• Don't complain or badmouth her musical selections, no matter how awful or ear-splitting they may seem to you. Remember, her choice can be extremely personal, ingrained as a part of her identity – criticizing it may be misinterpreted as criticism of her.
• Talk about the lyrics, especially any risque language, and what she thinks about them and their appropriateness. Discuss why your child likes some artists more than others.
• Educate your child about the history of modern music (maybe even encourage some reading) to instill understanding of musical roots and the history of an always changing industry.
• Foster interest in making music, perhaps learning to sing or play an instrument, which several studies have suggested increases spatial-temporal development and reasoning.

For more on this topic, please read the full article:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Introducing_Arts/