The Importance of Music in Your Twins’ Life

Last updated on August 11th, 2023 at 08:28 pm

Think about your favorite song. What makes it your favorite? What memories and what loved ones do you associate with it? You remember what you were smelling while driving as you listened to it on vacation? Remember the touch of his or her hand when it was playing in the distance?

Music is a learning machine that drives not only our brains but connects it to our hearts. This need for beat goes for our twinnies also. From even before they are born, music plays a vital role in their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social developments. Whoever is the goofy parent that talks or sings to their tummies helps babies get accustomed to their voice, increases growth of vital organs, and reduces not only baby stressors but mommy’s too! A calm rhythm of heart beat and blood flow already has got your babies attune to… tune. And if the beat is calm and relaxed, meaning if mommy slows her breathing and eases her mind and body, baby will take that in. Studies old and new share findings on how music, literally, heals.

Music is a universal phenomenon

And I’m not just talking radio hits. The melody of parental voices talking to children has cross-cultural calming capabilities (talk about alliteration). All languages and eras have used Motherese, the high pitched, melodic, exaggerated tones to pacify children. From German to Mandarin, parents use this since babies and children show preference to listening to this voice over a regular adult-directed voice. Some parents choose to avoid “baby talk,” however there’s no getting around the researched connection of music on babies speech, development, and emotional connection.

Lullabies

Anyone have a lullaby known by heart from your own childhood? I do! Our family has passed down lullabies like Winkin’, Blinkin’, and Nod, as well as religious hymns like Lecha Dodi and Shema. I now lovingly sing them to my babies before bed. It’s part of our bedtime ritual which we have slowly developed since day one. We: diaper, pjs, bottle, play, then read and sing songs to settle into dream world. When the kids have a hard time brushing teeth for longer than a millisecond or if they even hate changing into pajamas, make a little song for these special times. I even have a goofy song I made for when we get into car seats and seeing the pediatrician! Song helps brains associate time, place, and action, no matter how silly it is to you. And can help kids expect their daily routines and what is coming next.

Sleep is what every talks about when you have twins. Music helps so much with this physiologically. A simple, repetitive “Shh” from you is reminiscent of the womb beats that you also remember hearing from ultrasound days. It calms heartbeat and breath. It is a great sleep inducer. If I am not around for bedtime, I have daddy or our nanny play a recording of my voice or use one of these awesome YouTube lullaby channels that I love (Tried and true. Believe me). My FAVORITE track was brilliantly created between a band and sleep scientists. Check it out here. It has no repeated patterns so the brain doesn’t catch on and the underlying beat slows throughout. There’s even a warning to not listen to this song while operating machinery! So if you play it for your twinnies, make sure it’s not while you are driving! It helps even this wired mommy relax some when I need to turn my brain off.

Songs on repeat

And all those annoying repetitive songs inside those devilish toys or shows you’ve seen a million times? Although they’re wearing to our ears, they help kiddos learn everything from ABCs to how to share. It’s good for kids to listen to different voices and songs and styles. But the most important part is to have babies physically and verbally interact with the different styles.

Audiation is like thinking in language. Just as we hope our children think in words and numbers, independently creating and comprehending musicality is a skill to help children develop in so many ways. How to do this is to practice dancing, moving, clapping, and singing to songs. Just like you heard your babies practice using their vocal chords with silly yells and babbles early on, music accompanied by action is huge for growth in all areas in body, brain, muscles, and soul! Just give a kid a spoon and pan to bang together and it teaches: cause and effect, keeping a tempo, pitch difference, start and stop, self confidence, autonomy, physical/social/emotional strength, and more! No one is more joyous than a baby (or babies) bouncing and banging utensils onto pots on the kitchen floor.

What if babies have deafness or any hearing loss?

Music is key for their development too as science has shown music to not just be heard, but felt. Vibrations and human interaction and beat can help children in music and speech therapies gain sense of voice, listening, socialization, and speech perception. Music therapy is crucial in every area and stage of life. As a previous pediatric hospice social worker, I worked closely with our music therapists to make children and their families emote, communicate, and connect when a patient may not be able to even physically speak. A gift treasured by all.

Music shouldn’t just be for the kids enjoyment and your wheels-on-the-bus-induced dismay. Listen to music YOU like (age appropriate lyrics of course)! You can find a lot of mommy and me classes using modern music ranging from jazz to hip hop. And all genres are good for our twinnies development!

Whether you’re prone to pop or inclined to classical, babies need music. Music gets kids growing, moving, and learning. It calms, it excites, it soothes, and it is cherished by those sharing the song together. Support your twinnies’ desires for musicality through lessons, camps, school electives, family fun, or even dance classes! Respect their musical exploration (even through those fun teen years), and listen together! And just know, no matter how bad your singing voice is, you’re making real memories and giving them premium growth opportunities that you also once had, remember fondly, and now can pass on.

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