Introducing Toddlers to Music

Toddlers enjoy actively listening to music; who knows, forging a healthy interest may nurture the pop stars of the future!  From an early age toddlers will enjoy banging or rattling along to music.  Give them a wooden spoon and a saucepan, or make a rattle out of a tube!   Tape a double layer of greaseproof paper over one end of a toilet or kitchen roll tube, pour in some dry lentils or pasta, and seal the other end with greaseproof paper too.  Watch and listen to your toddlers make noise along with a song they know - they'll quickly pick up surprisingly good tempo and rhythm!

Singing with Toddlers is also a lot of fun and imparts a wide range of benefit.  Many children's songs teach counting and the ABC song helps to teach the alphabet.  All songs simply help to grow memory and creativity as children absorb and learn them very quickly.  You'll find that they can sing a song and make it sound pretty accurate even before they can speak or understand the words!  As their vocabulary and understanding grows, so the words fall into place.  You too can make up new verses to simple rhymes - make up songs about your child and include their name and you'll quickly have them in uncontrollable laughter!

You'll probably find toddler music groups in your local area.  These are not aimed at teaching musical instruments but an introduction to sound and movement.  Toddler music groups are a lot of fun - if you don't have one locally, why not start one and introduce simple movement and banging and rattling improvised percussion?