Music to Your Family’s Ears (and hearts)

One of my goals as a parent is to raise musically literate children. Besides the fact that playing an instrument improves brain function, relieves stress, teaches discipline, and improves math scores - it is just plain fun!

I played the violin for a time as a child and then picked it up again as an adult and my husband can play a little guitar. My son is learning the violin and my daughter just plays with anything musical she can find.

Sometimes it feels like playing an instrument and studying music is a dying art. That makes me so sad. Music is an important part of our family’s life. We use it to dance, express joy, relax, worship, and in so many other ways. It adds so much to a road trip, a camp-out or just to the afternoon chore session.

So what can you do to expose your children to music and get them motivated to learn more? Here are a few ideas:

• Play music often. Be sure to play varying genres and casually talk to your children about what they are hearing.
• Buy your children musical instruments such as recorders, tambourines, maracas, drums, etc. and let them play with them.
• Sing songs together. A good one for teaching about music is the famous “Do Re Mi.” We sing this song a lot.
• If you can afford it, sign your children up for music lessons (or like us, take advantage of school music programs).
• If you play an instrument (or used to), play it in front of your child. Let them see that you enjoy music.

There is really no right way to do this. Do what works for your family. I truly believe that every person can reap benefits from music.

Does your family value music? How do you include it in your life? Please feel free to leave comments.  Share and let’s talk about it.

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