Music plays a huge part in a child's life, no matter what age they are. Early exposure to music and rhymes are hugely beneficial, and by introducing tiny minds to counting and repetitive rhythms this helps establish an early grasp on language and mathematics.

Children also love to express themselves through music - they enjoy singing and dancing and you will always find a young child bouncing to a beat, clapping their hands or humming along to a song. As children start school their musical opportunities widen and this is a great time to harness their enthusiasm and interest to learn. Children usually start learning an instrument from the age of about five years, this being that they have better concentration and bigger more manipulative hands. Knowing the alphabet also helps when beginning to read music. Choosing an instrument is very dependent on the child, their age and their ability; a good music shop will be able to offer plenty of guidance and advice on what would suit your child.

The beauty of learning music is its instant rewards, the first note played or sung. Music also teaches discipline, hand-to-eye co-ordination and spatial temporal reasoning, a neurological process needed to understand mathematics.
So it has been said that music can make you smarter and that the earlier you learn music the more successful you will become. Technically this is true; music does enhance a child's learning and can lead to future opportunities such as joining a band or choir. You will also find many schools offer scholarships for musically gifted children.

No matter what musical path your child decides to take be sure to make it an enjoyable experience. Make music an integral part of your child's life by starting early.