Kids
How Parents Can Encourage Their Kids to Love Music
Music has a lot of benefits for kids. Here are ways that parents can encourage them to love it.
Music helps kids in a lot of ways, especially in encouraging them to find different ways to approach problems and express themselves. But we all have our preferences in music; some of which our kids may love and most of the time, they won’t. Most music lessons even focus on making sure they learn classical pieces—a lot of those our kids aren’t too keen on learning how to play.
But if we want our kids to learn and love music, here are ways we can encourage them.
1. Avoid forcing them to learn how to play an instrument.
Learning how to play an instrument isn’t the only way a kid can learn how to love music. Sure, it encourages mathematical thinking but it’s a big financial investment on our end. Then, we’ll have to find a teacher who jives with our kids and plays the instrument they want to learn. That can all fall through if we keep forcing them to learn how to play just so we can get a return on investment.
Instead, expose them to different kinds of musicians. Not only does it expand their horizons, but it also gives them an idea of what kind of instrument they like listening to. Eventually, they’ll want to try learning it themselves.
2. Avoid minimizing the role of instruments.
Assuming our kids already love music, some of them may not want to learn the instrument we want them to learn. We often insist on the piano because it plays a vital role in the orchestra and we went through it ourselves. But, insisting on a particular instrument may discourage them from loving other forms of music just because there’s no “piano” in it.
Instead, let them hear the different sounds the instruments make. Kids already have an idea of what a nice sound is so, it all boils down to what they hear and want to hear.
3. Take them to live shows when you can!
Every music performance has its flair. Concerts have a “high” from the singer’s or musician’s performance level, whereas Open Mic Night in malls, cafés, and even restaurants give a more intimate and welcoming feeling to the audience from both big-time and small-time artists.
The goal is to show kids that music connects all kinds of people and is something worth enjoying everywhere!
4. Accept today’s music.
We may have our prejudices about what noise or music is, but today’s music is what our kids are hearing through every YouTube ad, music video, and shopping mall jingle.
While we don’t necessarily have to love the current music, we have to accept that those sounds are what will shape our kids’ idea of music. That will stay with them even as they get older. Besides, these are the tunes that kids their age listen to. We’re sure none of them would headbang to Beethoven and Mozart!
Music doesn’t just encourage thinking in kids, but a love for life as well!
Math and Science are good in all but music and arts are what make life more colorful. There are just some feelings that numbers or words can’t capture but colors and sounds can. Our kids are little individuals who are navigating and trying to find their ways of understanding the world and music is just one of those many avenues to do so.
Kids learn their love for music from us and our role, as parents, is to show how they can listen to the stories and emotions found in various pieces.
More about kids and music?
Why Parents Should Encourage Their Kids To Dance
Martin and Barbie Almalbis-Honasan: When Art Meets Music
5 Reasons Teens Should Watch the Hamilton Musical
