Like many young girls today, my daughters are obsessed with the movie Frozen. In fact, it is the norm to hear Idina Menzel belting out the film’s ballad “Let it Go” at any given time. Yep, my four-year-old twin daughters have figured out how to use our Alexa. Their musical choices range from the peppy tunes from the Trolls movie to the crooning of Michael Bublé…no kidding, they are HUGE fans!
My girls’ love of music started early. When they were eight months old I started taking them to Music Together classes, which they took for years. Each semester they learned about different instruments, sang wonderful songs and started to make little friends. As the months went by it was amazing to see their development. At first, they needed me to support them as they were learning to sit up. Both were wide eyed as they took in the class. Then they started to crawl around to the music, as I scurried after them. When each finally was able to stand up and dance around in class, I really had to boogie to catch them! It was amazing to see how my daughters went from just looking around, to gurgling along, to fully singing with the group.
Music is wonderful for early childhood development. Research has shown exposure not only helps children learn to speak and develop vocabulary, but also builds social skills. Dancing to the music helps with motor skills. Being exposed to various types of music helps them learn different tones. Young children build on their musical skills through imitating rhymes and beats. Clapping and memorizing songs helps process melodies. Additionally, the parent and child relationship is strengthened when music is shared.
Although my kids are fans of the infamous “Baby Shark” song, they also love The Mamas and The Papas, Elvis and Cyndi Lauper. I can’t wait to see how their music tastes and talents develop over the years. But I can say for sure in regards to my daughters that these “girls just wanna have fun!”
