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Music training has been shown to help children’s brains develop faster, boost their IQ, enhance their spatial-temporal skills, and more. But that’s not all music education can do: it also has an effect on children’s social and emotional skills. Here are a few ways music training can benefit your child socially and emotionally.
Group cooperation
Research suggests that preschoolers participating in musical groups and movement activities displayed greater group cooperation, cohesion, and pro-social behavior compared to kids who weren’t involved in the same activities. When children work together, they learn how to express themselves and respect each other’s space. Making music or moving together also teaches kids how to work together to achieve a common goal.
Increased empathy
One study suggested that singing and dancing together resulted in increased empathy for the other kids in the group.
When kids make music togeher, they have to watch the other group members for subtle cues on timing, volume, and more. These are the same cues we use when we’re reading people’s facial expressions and gauging their mood.
Better social and emotional connection
Music even has an impact on the social and emotional skills of infants. Research has shown that music and movement interactions between adults and children can result in better communication and improved social and emotional coordination and connection, both in terms of rhythm and emotions.
Emotional management
Music can help kids express and manage their emotions in a number of ways.
Singing, dancing, and playing a musical instrument can be an outlet for kids much in the same way it’s an outlet for adults.
Moreover, kids can develop emotional intelligence by recognizing feelings in music and learning. Through listening to music, kids can learn what certain feelings “sound” like, and what emotion is expressed through a particular kind of music. Lyrics can also help children understand the emotions related to certain events or situations.
Faster brain development, higher IQ, increased emotional intelligence, better group cooperation skills: the benefits of music education for kids are seemingly endless! If your kids aren’t already participating in music training, you should strongly consider getting them involved.
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