Expert Advice: Language Development and the Importance of Singing

Singing and vocal music is one of the best ways to introduce baby to language while comforting and amusing them. Babies respond to their mother's familiar voice from day one and listening to her and all other caregivers sing and use vocal music is a key element in encouraging their language skills and helping develop speech.

Read the full script to learn more about the way singing and vocal music helps babies develop their language skills:

Babies respond to their mother’s voice from the first days of life, recognizing it from their in-utero experiences. Human singing is the most effective stimuli for relaxing babies and keeping them engaged. Vocal music is an excellent joint activity with baby at home, outside, in the car, and in unfamiliar environments. The parent’s mouth movements while singing or rhyming are strong stimuli. Gazing at your face optimizes eye contact and provides baby with a model for imitation.
Simple songs encourage repetitive rhythmical movements that babies enjoy and can repeat. When parents sing to their babies, they often produce syllables that familiarize the baby with the sounds of their language. At the age of 7-8 months, children recognize the syllables that are common in their language and begin to respond to them. The movement, rhythm and softness of your voice encourage your child to be more attentive to the language he or she hears. Babies who are good listeners will learn language easily and have an advantage over those who did not have musical experiences during the first year of life. Practicing musical games at an early age will foster social skills, interactive abilities and advance musical learning as well as cognitive development.