WHY SINGING IS SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR YOUNG CHILD AND YOU
Rachel Buchman, ©2005

CHILDREN DERIVE GREAT JOY AND SATISFACTION FROM SINGING
Through singing children learn that music expresses their feelings and ideas. Singing is one of the first experiences children have as creative and self-expressive beings. As you know from listening to a child playing alone in a crib, she will sing before she can talk! A child will sing a story while looking at picture books before he can read! Through songs, children learn about themselves and the world around them. Help your children feel comfortable singing, and give them a varied repertoire of beautiful songs that they can keep on singing for the rest of their lives. Self-expression through singing affords a child deep satisfaction and contentment.

SINGING CHEERS THE SPIRIT AND LIGHTENS THE HEART
Sing with your children at home. Singing creates a sense of togetherness. Singing is a comfort to children. It has the power to help your child go to sleep, and calm a child who is frightened, angry or frustrated. Singing banishes grumpiness, obstinacy and boredom! When you sing with a child it makes whatever you're doing fun. A child will listen and pay attention to a song when he won't pay attention to your words.

SINGING CAUSES THE MIND TO FOCUS AND THE BODY TO RELAX

SINGING TEACHES MUCH MORE THAN MUSIC ALONE
While singing, children develop listening and cooperative skills, coordination of the tongue and lips, gross and fine motor skills (through creative movement and keeping the beat), self-control, concentration skills and memory. Singing fosters the growth of the imagination, that essential part of a child's mind that is being increasingly impinged upon by the prevalence of TV, videos, computer games and busy schedules. Singing develops a child's sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.

Children learn more easily through singing. Why do we teach the ABCs with a song? Think of all those ridiculous words to commercials and TV show theme songs that you know from your childhood, not because you tried to memorize them, but because they are lyrics to songs that you heard over and over again!

While singing, children learn vocabulary and grammar, story form, math, history, geography, and science. Singing is a superb tool for learning foreign languages.

SINGING CREATES A LINK BETWEEN GENERATIONS
Songs carry history and traditions in families and in nations. Singing creates a strong sense of belonging in children; belonging to a family, a community, a culture, a country. Singing helps children feel part of something bigger than themselves, something they can join and can contribute to by singing. Remember how people sang together after September 11th?

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