Classical Music for Babies
Does Classical music make babies smarter? Research in child development has focused on “The Mozart Effect”, proving that listening to Mozart (among other composers) can jump-start a baby’s mental and social development.
Parents would be concerned about giving their children the best possible start in life
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Does Classical music make babies smarter? The answer from researchers is a resounding “yes”. Studies in child development have focused on “The Mozart Effect”, proving that listening to Mozart (amoung other composers) can jump-start a baby’s mental and social development. Classical music for babies is no longer a New Age approach to parenting—rather, it is a highly marketable trend that is making millions.
In a world in which many parents are already planning for their child’s college education before that child is even born, it makes sense that those same parents would be concerned about giving their children the best possible start in life. Music has always been a part of early childhood education—from nursery rhymes to silly songs—but Classical music is only recently beginning to take center stage. With product lines such as Disney’s Baby Einstein (which offers DVDs with colorful pictures and the background music of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven), and literally thousands of Classical music CDs being marketed for parents of babies and toddlers, it’s no wonder that researchers are questioning, “Is there really something to all of this?”
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Playing a CD of Mozart, or of Classical “lullaby” music, helps to soothe and calm the infant.
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“The Mozart Effect” was a term first used by Alfred A. Tomatis, a Parisian physician who researched the effect of Mozart’s music on many common disorders. His research went on to be used by others, claiming that listening to Mozart raised the IQ of children, helped retrain the ear to hear better, and developed spatial reasoning skills in early cognitive development. Since their combined studies, authors, inventors, and publishers have caught on, producing multiple products designed around the premise of “The Mozart Effect”. While there is no substitute for the parent-child bonding experience that happens when a parent exposes his or her child to music early in life, such products have been proven to help stimulate the senses and mental development of babies.
Beyond the positive mental and social benefits of Classical music for babies, there is the simple fact that babies, in general, love to hear the airy sounds of Mozart. Many parents, who deal with the frustration of a fussy baby, are delighted to discover that playing a CD of Mozart, or of Classical “lullaby” music, helps to soothe and calm their infant. In addition, most mobiles that are hung on cribs play Classical pieces—a testimony to the tried-and-true method of using Classical music to calm a baby.
Ultimately, parents who introduce their babies to Classical music also gain the advantage of knowing that they are helping their child to develop wonderful tastes, in music and in life. As a parent on an online forum astutely mentioned, “You never hear of children who grow up playing the violin making bombs in their basements.”
