Young children love music. They are exposed to it at home, at school, and in their environment.

It's obvious that music brings a lot of joy to your children, but did you know how important it is for early childhood?
Play is important, and music is one of the best types of play. Music plays a major role in children's development.
Here are some reasons why music is so important for your children and why they should be regularly exposed to musical activities at home.
Read on for some simple ideas and musical activities you can try at home.

How important is music in early childhood?

The benefits of music are enormous during the early years of life. It stimulates some of the following areas of development:

1. Brain development

Music promotes overall brain development and creates brain pathways that improve a child's cognitive functioning.
Musical activities help develop language, reading, and math skills, among other things. These aspects are explained in more detail below.

2. Language and vocabulary

Songs and rhymes expand a child's vocabulary and ability to use language correctly.
Repeating rhymes and popular songs helps children memorize new words. They also become familiar with language patterns and how words are placed together.
A well-developed vocabulary allows children to communicate effectively and learn to read with greater fluency and comprehension (reading to understand).

3. Auditory perception

Auditory perception is the brain's ability to make sense of what it hears through its ears. It is one of the most important skills for reading.
Children need to be able to hear different sounds, distinguish them from each other, and manipulate them (for example, blending an s and a t into a single st sound to read the word stop). They also need to be able to put sounds together and take them apart in order to read and spell words.
Teaching children classic songs and rhymes is one of the best ways to develop their auditory perception. It's fun, and children learn auditory skills without much effort.
Nonsensical rhymes are ideal for sensitizing a child's ear to sounds, especially rhymes.

4. Sound patterns

As we said above, rhymes, poems and songs allow us to learn sound forms.

These patterns appear through:
- rhymes
- the rhythm
- the instruments
- the syllables in words
- accentuation patterns in a song
- alliterations, etc.

Patterns are actually the foundation of literacy and numeracy. Learning patterns through musical activities will help children succeed academically when learning to read, write, spell, and calculate.

5. Motor skills

Motor skills are extremely important for learning to read and write. They are developed in various ways during musical activities.

Fine motor skills (small muscles) can be developed in the following ways:
- Finger games
- Nursery rhymes
- Playing with instruments
- The manufacture of instruments (for example, a rice shaker).

Gross motor skills (large muscles) can be developed by:
- Nursery rhymes
- Playing with large instruments
- Musical games (e.g., musical statues)
- The dance

Coordination, an important skill for children, can be acquired through many musical activities. Music also enhances a child's sensory development, especially when combined with a movement activity such as dance.

6. Personal expression

Music is a wonderful way for children to express themselves.
Through musical activities, children develop their sense of creativity and feel free to express themselves without judgment. Creative expression is an important part of child development.

7. Memory capacity

Children's songs are usually made up of repetitive phrases, which helps them develop their memory.
The tune and rhythm of songs and nursery rhymes make them easier to memorize. This helps develop auditory skills as well as general memory skills, which children will rely on throughout their schooling and beyond.

8. General well-being

Music is simply a fun activity that provides a sense of well-being.
Children are naturally drawn to music. They aren't embarrassed when they sing and aren't held back by fear and judgment like adults can be. They relax, sing, and move freely.
In today's stressful society, an activity that relaxes a child and promotes their overall well-being should be encouraged frequently.