You must have noticed that your infant smiles at the sound of your crinkling bangles or your toddler hums the notes of your lullaby. This is because music plays a great role in brain development. Music stimulates some parts of the brain that cannot be stimulated by reading, writing, or talking.
Giving kids musical toys is not a new practice; it has been happening for ages now! Rattles are given to infants to stimulate their brain development through sound. You can reap the benefits of musical toys by giving your child the right musical toys. Sounds interesting? Let's dive deeper into the benefits of musical toys for babies, how you can introduce them to musical toys and how music affects early childhood development.
What Are Musical Toys For Babies
Toys like rattle (jhunjhuna), pan flute, and drums that play a rhythmic sound would qualify as musical toys. Musical toys for babies are wonderful because they play sounds or melodies that entertain and soothe your little ones. By introducing musical toys into your child’s play routine, you can speed up their brain development, cognitive skills, and self-consciousness.
How Music Affects Early Childhood Development - Benefits Of Musical Toys For Babies
Music and brain development in early childhood is a very vast topic that has intrigued scientists for a long time now. Researchers have shown that listening to music can have many significant benefits for infants. Let us understand how music affects early childhood development:
1. Helps in Brain Development
Have you noticed this: you had a hard time remembering the answers to your science chapters, but you remembered the lyrics of every song as a child? Maybe you still remember most of the lyrics while you have totally forgotten all the answers! Well, the answer is simple. Music can reach certain parts of our brains that speech cannot.
Musical toys for infants can stimulate various parts of our brain, helping in the development of memory, spatial reasoning, and auditory skills. When babies listen to different sounds and melodies, it enhances their neural connections, promoting overall cognitive growth. Rattles (jhunjhuna) serve this purpose in infants. Musical toys like Neem Wooden Elephant Rattle for babies can be a great way to enhance brain development in infants.
2. Increase Motor Skills
Musical toys for kids can have several activities like shaking rattles, holding the toys, or tapping on a drum. These actions help improve a child's fine and gross motor skills, like holding, grabbing, and shaking hands. This Wooden Jungle Drum - Musical Toy can be a great way to improve your child’s hand movements and coordination.
These activities strengthen their hand-eye coordination as kids have to learn to control their movements.
3. Build Creativity
Kids musical toys help them discover different sounds and rhythms, which boosts their creativity. When they play with these toys, they make various noises which spark their imagination and artistic skills. At a young age, kids can develop a serious connection with music.
4. Emotional & Social Development
Music has a profound impact on emotions for both kids and adults alike. Musical baby toys can soothe a fussy baby or make a happy one more excited. This helps the child understand and manage his feelings.
5. Parent-Child Bonding
Musical toys for babies can provide a great opportunity for parents to spend time with their children. You can sing along, dance with them, or simply play together to create lasting memories. You can play with this Wooden Musical Lion Tambourine Toy and teach a few songs to your kids. You can also use this musical toy while signing their lullaby at bedtime.
6. Boosts Child’s Imagination & Creativity
When your kids play with musical baby toys, they often come up with their own tunes and rhythms. This kind of imaginative play not only boosts their creativity but also helps them think outside the box and develop problem-solving skills. Music is open-ended, so it encourages your little ones to explore endless possibilities and have tons of fun!
7. Enhances Child’s Language Skills
As they listen to and sing along with the songs and rhythms, kids expand their vocabulary, improve their pronunciation, and get a better grasp of language. This fun playtime helps build a solid foundation for their communication skills as they grow.
How To Introduce Musical Toys To Babies
Introducing musical toys to your baby can be a fun experience, but you need to plan your approach to make the experience delightful for your child. Here are some tips to help you introduce musical toys for babies:
1. Start Simple
Begin with basic musical toys like rattles or soft toys that play gentle tunes. These are easy for your baby to grasp and interact with.
2. Create a Musical Environment
Play soft, soothing music in the background during playtime. This way, your baby will build a positive association with music. It also creates a calming atmosphere for your little one.
3. Show How to Play and Interact with Them
Your baby learns by observing and imitating, so your actions will guide them. Show your baby how to use the toy to make it play music.
4. Incorporate Into their Routine
Integrate kids musical toys into your child’s daily routines. Play a lullaby during naptime. This helps your baby associate music with different activities and times of the day.
5. Rotate Toys
Introduce different musical toys for kids over time to keep things fresh and interesting for your baby. Rotating toys ensures that your baby doesn't get bored and continues to be stimulated by new sounds and interactions.
If you do this early, by the time your child becomes a toddler, he will already have a positive relationship with music.
Tips To Create Your Own DIY Musical Instruments For Kids At Home
Here are some ways to create your very own musical instruments for kids that your kids can play with:
- Grab a long cardboard tube (like from aluminium foil) or a PVC pipe. Fill it up with rice, beads, or small pebbles. Seal the ends by stretching a balloon over it or use paper and tape. When you tip the tube, it'll sound just like falling rain!
- Take some empty plastic bottles or containers and fill them with rice, marbles, or beads. Seal them tightly and give them to your baby. Whenever you shake them, it will make a rattle noise.
- Use empty cans as drums. Stretch balloons over the openings and secure them with rubber bands. Your kids can tap on the balloons with their hands or drumsticks to make cool beats.
- You can also use spoons and a wooden bowl to make drums for your child.
- Use an empty tissue box or a cardboard tube as the body. Attach rubber bands across the opening and secure them at both ends. Your child can pluck the strings to create their very own musical tones!
Conclusion
Shumee specialises in creating eco-friendly educational toys for children. Our toys and games are designed to promote creativity, learning, and development through play. We at Shumee focus on using natural materials and safe, sustainable practices to craft toys that are both fun and beneficial for kids. From wooden toys for kids to puzzles and games, you can find a wide range of toys for kids at Shumee.
FAQs on musical toys for toddlers
1. Why are Musical Toys Important for Children?
Musical toys for kids are important because they promote brain development, creativity, imagination, and cognitive skills in children. Plus, they are a great way for parents to spend some time with their children.
2. Why Encourage Your Child to Play with Musical Toys?
There are several scientifically proven benefits of musical toys for babies. By introducing musical toys for toddlers, you can promote their brain development.
3. What is the right age for introducing musical toys to kids?
You can introduce musical toys to your baby right after their birth. You can hang windchimes or rattles in their baskets.