Is Listening to Mozart Able to Make Our Children More Intelligent

it doesn't do anything but expose them to something new and different. which, yes, is a good thing. you can teach them to appreciate classical music, perhaps think in a slightly different way. but no, i don't believe there's a magical button in the brain that makes kids smarter just because they're listening to Mozart. babies need stimulation and interaction, that is what will help their brains grow.

I have a music degree, and have researched this "Mozart Effect". While most babies enjoy music, not all pieces by classical composers are equally as stimulating. In fact, studies have shown that babies that listen to Allegro Con Spirito from Sonata for Two Pianos in D major (K448) specifically, showed an enhancement in spacial and cognitive reasoning WHILE it's playing. Therefore, the idea that the Mozart Effect makes for smarter kids long term is debatable. Any music with a steady beat and melody lines that rise and fall seem to be preferable to babies. My daughter only likes classical music in a major key. My son didn't care for classical at all as a baby. Interestingly, he did like Led Zeppelin ("Kashmir" and "When the Levee Breaks"). He is now four, and we are starting to explore the music of The Beatles. But, he does like classical, too- we turn it on and "ballroom dance"...lol I say just keep the music choices diverse- that's the most important requirement in my book.

Yes and no. Exposure to all kinds of music is a good thing - a variety of melodic sounds, rhythms, and so on. Mozart in particular, no. I agree with the post about rhythm and patterns, and that it can be anything - poems, rhyming games & songs, finger-play games/songs, and so on. But it has a lot more to do with your engagement with your child and the variety of experiences, and not just the passivity of playing classical music. So, families who sing in the car have more engaged and developed kids than those who put them in front of DVD players, families who form "marching bands" and do musical activities around the house instead of parking their kids in front of a computer with child-on-computer engagement - those people have more curious kids with more stimulation as well as social skills. Kids who build stuff, or who combine their Legos with their K'nex for creative play, have better brain skills than those who just absorb. Same for kids whose parents take them to museums and on nature hikes.

Brain development is also dependent on nutrition. With our foods depleted, our produce artificially gassed to be in a limbo-like state so as to not rot, with our soils deficient and filled with fertilizers, we also need to add a balanced nutritional supplement specifically geared for brain development. But you won't find that on the store shelves, believe me! So I definitely boost the brain function of the kids I work with. Best investment you can make - even better than Mozart!

i don't buy it. listening to classical music if YOU love it is a good thing for kids, if it has you engaged with and sharing your enthusiasm with them.
the fad of 'developing your toddler's brain' through various toys and specialized curricula is a brilliant marketing strategy. i hate it. it encourages parents to surrender interaction with their kids to some gizmo, and has created ferociously competing mothers glaring at each other while trying to get a pre-verbal tiny to do an alphabet performance before all the other tinies and thereby produce applause and jealousy for that 'good' mom.
bleugh.
read to your baby. play with your baby. talk to your baby. feed your baby simple nutritious foods and take her outside to play a lot. that will boost the brain development of your toddler.
khairete
S.

or jazz, country-western, blue-grass, reggae, r&b, yanni, beating on pots and pans...

i would just get a ton of music, (sans the lyrics), and just let it play. using "song" and sounds in daily activities (the "clean up" song, for instance); or singing the "ABC", months of the year, et al. is a way to connect music to gross/fine motor and cognitive development.

musical exposure is great for kids. it teaches rhythm, harmony, meter et al.

i think the emphasis on "the classics" is a bit "classicist" if you ask me.

regarding "intelligence", that's a subjective measure, based on several factors: cognitive ability, educational exposure, and academic preparation. in addition, "intellegence" is also multi-faceted. take a peek at dr. gardner's "multiple intelligences" research.

I'm not sure of the scientific research behind this theory but I can share my experience. My oldest daughter (now almost 6) has always fallen asleep with a Baby Einstein Lullaby CD playing (classical music). I wasn't trying to "create a genius", I just liked the soothing music. But now she can recognize the music when she hears it in other places, and has developed a love of and understanding of music (she takes dance and piano). She also demonstrates many other signs of giftedness (high reading a math abilities, advanced vocabulary, creative, sensitive, etc.) But, I also read to her a TON and did other activities with her, so, I'm not sure how much of this had to do with listening to that music, but I'd say it certainly can't hurt and if nothing else, your child might grow up to love and appreciate music!

My mom put on Baroque music when we were doing our homework, and that super helped. I didn't realize that it was a specific time period in music that did it, but it even helped when I was in highschool/college. something about the ornate mathematical melodies helps with cognitive concentration.
If you want to sit with your child and work with him on his numbers/letters/workbooks, whatever, I would encourage this.
(also, I tutored a kid and put this music on, he worked much better to get to turn it off...=))
Good luck
R.

Introducing your child to many different sounds, rhythms, experiences, books, voices, music, motions, people, places, sights, smells...stimulates their brains. It fosters creativity, imagination, and exploration. Mozart isn't going to make your kid more intelligent. Doing all of the above will instill a desire to learn.

Well, it can't hurt anything, right? But like Diane B. said, there are so many other things you can do to help stimulate your child's intelligence. To be honest, I did not play much classical music for my daughter as a baby - I certainly did not put headphones on my tummy when I was pregnant in an effort to pipe it into in utero! I did have a number of baby lullaby CDs however (including one with classical music) that we got in the habit of putting on to help her sleep and she still likes them on at 3 years old now. But we are also actively engaged with her - we played with her on the floor, we took her for walks, we went places and talked to her, we read her bedtime stories (and of course still do!). I ate as healthy as possible while pregnant, took an omega 3 fatty acid supplement along with my prenatal vitamin, and we do the same for her now. She loves playing with puzzles, building with blocks, and often just trying to construct her own contraptions from whatever is laying around.

We have her in a preschool class this year and just had our first parent-teacher conference last week. The teacher told us how amazed she is at both her intelligence as well as her social skills, plus her enthusiasm for all things school. According to her, she is showing strong language, pre-reading and math skills - she has an impressive vocabulary for a 3-year-old, as well as a sense of humor, and is an active confident participant in group activities (I apologize if I seem to be boasting, I'm just reiterating the teacher's report). She also gets along beautifully with the other children and takes pride in being helpful.

So I don't know if it's the music, or just the combination of everything. It does make sense when you think about it, and studies have shown that children that receive instruction in music (piano lessons, etc.) do better in math and other areas academically. But I also think it is important to have a well-rounded child, one who has empathy, kindness and respect for others, and is not just smart. I've been told by some people that my daughter might be gifted, but I can't be sure. It's hard to test as this age. But as her teacher told me when I asked her about it, she said even gifted kids at this age need to play, and playing is often the best way for them to learn anything.

p.s. DD's favorites right now seem to be Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson. :)

I don't know whether it does or not, but we'd used the Baby Einstein set from Day 1 (they play all classical music the whole running time) and all 3 of our girls are advanced beyond their grade levels. They all knew their alphabets and could count to 10 by 18 months. Of course, we didn't just allow them to sit infront of a tv all day either...we worked with them as well. I think it depends on what you want to contribute your child's intelligence to.

Since I like classical music, I'm for it! But scientific? I dunno.

Rhythm is very important, and I think exposure to different kinds of melodies, harmonies, and structures is a good thing. Music is just doggone good for us! Realistically speaking, it's wise to give children exposure to different kinds of music, including the classical variety, before somebody comes along and says, "You don't want to like THAT stuff!"

If you want to expose your children to classical music but don't want to invest in CDs, go to

www.kcme.org

It's our local classical station, it's a good one, and you can listen to it online. Free. (They will take donations - it's a non-profit.)

But don't stop there. Talk to your child. Read with your child. Walk with your child and point out different things. Ask questions. Tell stories you make up in your head. Look at pictures together. All these things help develop the brain (at any age.)

As an educator, I can tell you that there is Plenty of evidence that links rhythm and patterns to intelligence. Classical music fires receptors in concentration and logical thinking areas of the brain. Recent studies have shown a shockingly strong case for nursery rhymes and early reading skills. So, if I were raising a child right now, two days to ten years I would Definately play classical music, and read and sing nursery rhymes with them. When my daughters get the grandkid scene going for Me I will preach and practice Patterns and rhythm... patterns and rythym....

While music is always a wonderful thing, in my experience there is something better than Mozart or Beethoven... Reading stories to your child on a daily basis (having them vary in topic, length, style, etc). This will help develop not only language skills, but it will boost his/her imagination too; also, storytelling is a fun way to begin to understand the world and it's logic. I read to my son from his very first day (it wasn't intentional - I just write stories for a living) and am impressed by the results . His vocabulary is extensive, he learned to read and write on his own and count to 100 at age 4, and understands abstract concepts like time, space, etc. And all I did was to read stories!

There was an article in the New York Times magazine sometime within the last month that said something along the lines of, PRACTICING music is what really stimulates brain development and promotes your child to be focused. Reading to your child in the first five years is, I believe and have heard, more important than anything.

There has been a lot of research out recently about music's affect on the brain. Listening to music does nothing to the brain. In fact, Baby Einstein had to pay a huge settlement in a lawsuit that challenged the inference that listening to their music improved brain function in any way. You may want to play music and different types in order to enhance music apprecation but it won't make the kids more intelligent. What does have an affect however, and a very important one, is playing music. Playing music improves brain functioning like few things can and in areas that few other activities can reach. So save your dollars for piano lessons. In general, you can start lessons around age 4-5.

Hi Lillian, there is such a theory called the "Mozart Effect" which suggests that "listening to Mozart or Classical music makes you smarter," or that early childhood exposure to classical music has a beneficial effect on mental development. But that's all is is - a theory. However, I feel that exposure to Classical music is beneficial to children as well as adults, it's probably not going to raise their IQ's significantly. I have exposed my son to Classical music since he was born, it relaxes him and calms him down when needed.