WHY IS LISTENING TO MUSIC GOOD FOR KIDS?

Thesis: People these days are very opinionated on music. Is it good? Or is it bad? Well its

honestly all oppinated. In this paper i hope to show you why music is good and what music is

best for you and/or your child/family.

I. Improve Social Bonds

A. Develop strong bonds with their parents and also with their friends.

1. Musical experiences to form friendships

2. Listen to music after school with a group of friends

B. People will like someone based on their musical taste

1. Playing in a band or playing with a group of people require teamwork and good social skills too.

2. Helps their children with main skills that they may need in their job or in their social encounters.

II. Mental Health

A. Shown to activate many areas of the brain

1. A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute

2. Music helps strengthen memory skills

B. Music helps our mind in ways we haven’t thought possible.

1. Some types of music that help ease depression is classical, meditative sound all help with calming

depression.
 2. Music has been shown to activate many areas of the brain, including the circuit that helps us to

understand what others are thinking and feeling and to predict how they might behave, Scientist,

say that this is linked to empathy

Ill. Learning

A. Study Shows that Infants and Music

1. School-Age Children and Music

2. Children are intrigued by kids’ singalong songs that involve counting, spelling, or

remembering a sequence of events.

B. Music can also help with a child’s auditory skills too

1. Accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills

2. Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings

of words.

IV. Behavior (Argument)

A. Sexualized Behavior

1. Music often glorifies promiscuity and promotes gender stereotypes

2. Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth

B.Aggression

1. Listening to lyrics that involve guns, violence and aggressive behavior can have a negative

influence on youth.

2. Violent lyrics increase both aggressive thoughts and aggressive feelings.

Tiffany Easton

Mrs.Frith

English 4

11 April 2016

Why Listening to Music is good for Kids

Music has been known by all. Because of the effects it had in the culture that we live in as well as

the people around us. Parents should allow kids to listen to music because it helps improve social bonds,

mental health, and learning.

Music gives a neuropeptide (any of a group of compounds that act as neurotransmitters and are

short-chain polypeptides) which plays an important role in increasing bonding and trust between people.

One experiment involving a breed of “singing mice” that had their receptor site cut showed a social

deficit to the normal mice. Singing for 23 minutes was shown to increase oxytocin levels in professional

singers regardless of their emotions. Over time as a parent's children listen to music, they will develop

strong bonds with their parents and also with their friends.

Music has been shown to activate many areas of the brain, including the circuit that helps us to

understand what others are thinking and feeling and to predict how they might behave, Scientist, say that

this is linked to empathy. A study was conducted on college participants to see whether they can know if

a computer or person was singing it. The students thought that a person was singing it and scientist

suggested that it had a link to empathy.

A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute found that

musical experiences in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of

language acquisition and reading skills. According to the National Association of Music Merchants

Foundation (NAMM Foundation), learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical learning and

even increase SAT scores.

But academic achievement isn’t the only benefit of music education and exposure. Music ignites all areas

of child development and skills for school readiness: intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language,

and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during

early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children

build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults, music helps

strengthen memory skills

Study Shows that Infants and Music- Infants recognize the melody of a song long before they

understand the words. They often try to mimic sounds and start moving to the music as soon as they are

physically able. Quiet, background music can be soothing for infants, especially at sleep time. Loud

background music may overstimulate an infant by raising the noise level of the room. Sing simple, short

songs to infants in a high, soft voice. Try making up one or two lines about bathing, dressing, or eating to

sing to them while you do these activities.

Toddlers and Music- Toddlers love to dance and move to music. The key to toddler music is the

repetition of songs, which encourages the use of words and memorization. Silly songs make them laugh.

Try singing a familiar song and inserting a silly word in the place of the correct word, like “Mary had a

little spider” instead of lamb. Let them reproduce rhythms by clapping or tapping objects. Preschoolers

and Music -Preschoolers enjoy singing just to be singing. They aren’t self-conscious about their ability

and most are eager to let their voices roar. They like songs that repeat words and melodies, use rhythms

with a definite beat, and ask them to do things. Preschool children enjoy nursery rhymes and songs about

familiar things like toys, animals, play activities, and people. They also like finger plays and nonsense

rhymes with or without musical accompaniment. School-Age Children and Music-Most young school-

age children are intrigued by kids’ singalong songs that involve counting, spelling, or remembering a

sequence of events. School-age children begin expressing their likes and dislikes of different types of

music. They may express an interest in music education, such as music lessons for kids. Teenagers and

Music- Teenagers may use musical experiences to form friendships and to set themselves apart from

parents and younger kids. They often want to hang out and listen to music after school with a group of
friends. Remember those days of basement and garage bands? They often have a strong interest in taking

music lessons or playing in a band.

Music is one way of communicating belonging, which may increase your sense of safety and

obligation toward your group. Studies have shown that people affiliate musical taste withholding certain

values. The connection between the two influences sparks how much we think that people will like

someone based on their musical taste. When we discover a piece that we like we tend to associate better

with people who also like the music thus strengthening our social bonds.

Music helps our mind in ways we haven’t thought possible. One way music could help our

mental health is by relieving symptoms of depression. When a person is feeling down in the dumps,

music can pick you back up from the slums and help him or her motivated again. Some types of music

that help ease depression is classical, meditative sound all help with calming depression.

Music can also help with cognitive performances and tasks. Background music helps most with

improving cognitive tasks and one study showed that listening to music on test helped the students to

complete more questions in the time provided. Most of the time the student that listened to the music

during the test got more answers correct than the one who didn’t listen to music.

A study in 2013 showed that music also put children in a better mood and helped get in a better

mood and get in touch with their feelings and who they are as a person. The people in the study said that

mood regulation and self-awareness was the most two important benefits of listening to music. Listening

to music will help your child’s mood, cognitive task abilities as well of relieving your child of the

depression.

Music has also helped your child go to bed at night. Some studies have been shown that music

helps relax the brain and help children drift off into a relaxing sleep. Mostly it is because the relaxing

music triggers the feel-good chemicals in your brain which allows the child to go to bed. Music has also

had physical effects too such as slowing your breathing rate and lower a person’s heart rate. One way that

a parent can let their child listen to music before they go to sleep is by turning on the radio before they go

to bed.
 Music can also help children with learning and thinking skills that are needing in schools. One

way that music can help with your child’s education is by improving their work ethic. Music promotes

craftsmanship which means that children would want to create good work instead of partly done work.

This will increase your determination to get things done and complete it to the best of their ability.

Music also helps kids with their creative thinking skills and imagination. Kids who study the arts

can learn to think creatively. This kind of education can lead to easier problem-solving skills too. This

also can help children think outside there realm of thinking and branch out to other areas as well. The way

that music can help with a child imagination when growing is that it can help the child have a positive

attitude toward learning and curiosity. This, in turn, helps develop a child’s artistic education as well as

develops the child’s imagination.

Music can also help with a child’s auditory skills too. The way that it can help with a child’s

auditory skills is that it can help them detect information elements it sounds like a baby’s cry or why a

dog is barking. Over time as a child practices and develops these skills while listening to music, they will

have better auditory attention and pick out patterns in songs or beats that they wouldn’t have been able to

do before.

Lastly, music can help with teamwork skills and a child’s self-confidence. Many music education

programs such as playing in a band or playing with a group of people require teamwork and good social

skills too. When playing in a band the teacher will encourage the students to improve pride and

confidence and over the years as they cooperate with other people on projects their confidence will build

allowing them also to work with other easier as well.

Parents should allow their children to listen to music because it helps their children with main

skills that they may need in their job or in their social encounters. Parents should allow to let their

children listen to their music whenever possible so that these important skills may develop over there life.

15 Benefits of Listening

1. Music Makes You Happier

2. Music Enhances Running Performance

3. Music Lowers Stress and Improves Health

4. Music Helps You Sleep Better

5. Music Reduces Depression

6. Music Helps You Eat Less

7. Music Elevates Your Mood While Driving

8. Music Strengthens Learning and Memory

9. Music Relaxes Patients Before/After Surgery

10. Music Reduces Pain

11. Music Helps Alzheimer’s Patients Remember

12. Music Improves Recovery in Stroke Patients

13. Music Increases Verbal Intelligence

14. Music Raises IQ and Academic Performance

15. Music Keeps Your Brain Healthy in Old Age

This is my counter Argument. Music has the potential to be a major influence in a child's life. According

to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average child listens to more than 2 1/2 hours of music daily. Music

does not necessarily pose problems for teenagers who live a balanced and healthy lifestyle, according to

the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The site does warn, however, that, "If a

teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive themes, and there are

changes in behavior such as isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, evaluation by a qualified

mental health professional should be considered."

Sexualized Behavior- Most song lyrics don't discuss dangers of sexual activity, such as unplanned

pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Instead, music often glorifies promiscuity and promotes

gender stereotypes. According to a study published by the journal "Pediatrics" titled "Exposure to

Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth," adolescents who
listen to degrading sexual lyrics are more likely to engage in riskier sexualized behavior. Degrading lyrics

tend to objectify both genders and portray men as sex-driven and women as sexual objects.

Suicide- Research about whether music can increase a teen's suicide risk is mixed. When song lyrics

focus on death and suicide, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry warns that it can

make suicide seem like a good solution to problems. According to an article published by the journal

"Pediatrics," "Heavy metal and some rock music have been associated in some studies with an increased

risk of suicide." However, a more recent study published by the "Journal of Youth and Adolescence,"

states, "It seems that listening to music to express uncomfortable emotions could be a rather effective

coping mechanism for girls since it reduces the risk for suicidal behaviors."

Aggression- Listening to lyrics that involve guns, violence and aggressive behavior can have a negative

influence on youth. According to a 2003 study published in the "Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology," violent lyrics increase both aggressive thoughts and aggressive feelings. The study also

warns, "Repeated exposure to violent lyrics may contribute to the development of an aggressive

personality."

Substance Abuse- Drug and alcohol use is often glamorized in song lyrics and in music videos. John

Hopkins Children's Center reports that alcohol is portrayed in music videos once every 14 minutes.

According to a study published in the journal "Pediatrics," "Increased television and music video viewing

are risk factors for the onset of alcohol use in adolescents." Music often portrays substance use as cool

without showing the negative consequences of addiction.

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