How to Encourage Your Child's Love of Music

Learning to love and appreciate music is sure to enrich the life of any child. Children who are pushed too early and too hard to learn to play music, however, may instead find themselves somewhat turned off from what could otherwise have been a lifelong pleasure The trick is in finding ways to share your enjoyment of music that are developmentally appropriate for your child.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Play music in your home and/or car. You do not need to limit yourself to "children's music." Whatever type of music you enjoy, you may play this to share it with your child.

2. Look for music outside the house. There are all kinds of free concerts and performances you can attend, perhaps just dropping in for a minute or two. Discuss all of the different types of music you hear with your child and try to find out which types she prefers and why.

3. Make music together. If you play an instrument or sing you can do so. You can teach your child some simple songs to sing as well, but do not try to instruct him in how to play an instrument at this point. Instead, let him play a simple percussion instrument such as a tambourine, bongo drums, or castanets or perhaps toot along on a plastic recorder, harmonica, or kazoo.

4. Create your own instruments. You can make maracas by putting rice in a plastic egg or soda can, string rubber bands across a cardboard bow to make a "guitar", or even wrap waxed paper around a comb to make a kazoo of sorts.

5. Hold off on formal music lessons. Most young children tend to feel pressured by the feeling that they must practice all the time to become good musicians. What you want, at this stage, is to foster an appreciation for music and share the joy of making it. Let your child decide on her own when or if it is time to take things one step further by taking lessons or joining a group.

Tips & Warnings

• When sharing certain styles of music, you do need to be aware of inappropriate lyrics. There are some words and phrases you probably do not want your child repeating.