There's much to be said for introducing even the youngest kids to classical music: not only is it a great stimulant to the imagination and to creativity, it can also help teach older kids about subjects including history, geography, and literature.
A handful of works that appeal to children have become true classics with audiences of all ages. Who can resist Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals, or Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra? (And of course, who did more than Leonard Bernstein to introduce generations of audiences to fantastic music?) Moreover, there have been a more recent flurry of inspiring projects dedicated to introducing great composers to kids, including a fabulous series called "Classical Kids" that encompass charming fictional tales that weave in Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach, and others as characters.
For quite some time now, however, marketers have been coaxing parents to buy their music-related merchandise by citing the so-called "Mozart Effect," which purported that students who listened to Mozart experienced an immediate boost in their cognitive abilities--and on their test scores. The "Mozart Effect" got such wide credence that in 1998, the then-governor of Georgia, Zell Miller, had his state issue a classical music compact disc to every new mother in Georgia; the same year, Florida's state legislature mandated that any daycare facility that received state funding had to play classical music for at least an hour every day to their young charges.
Although researchers have now long disputed the original "Mozart Effect" findings, albums like the hugely popular "Baby Einstein" series and other compilations and new recordings aimed squarely at the pre-toddling market have proved enormously successful. (Another study released in early 2010 from researchers in Tel Aviv, Israel claims that playing Mozart for even just a half hour a day decreases agitation and stress in premature infants, which in turn helps them put on much-needed weight.)
Certainly, there's much to be said for introducing even the youngest kids to classical music: not only is it a great stimulant to the imagination and to creativity, it can also help teach older kids about subjects including history, geography, and literature. At any age, kids can enjoy classical music in all kinds of ways, whether it's in a laid-back manner (putting on some music to play in the background during coloring time, for example, or inviting a child to dance to the sounds he or she hears), listening to works that were specifically written with children in mind, or learning an instrument--which research suggests might be far more impactful on the development of everything from fine motor skills to spatial-temporal reasoning than passive listening could ever achieve. Certainly, many composers have written works specifically for children in mind: Bartok, for example, composed 85 pieces for young pianists (which, not incidentally, were among the first of his pieces to incorporate his folk music research).
But most important, of course, is your own love of classical music and opera, and taking time to share it in a low-key, fun way with the kids you care about. It's not about forcing children to listen because this art form is somehow "good for them"--it's about about communicating your own enthusiasm, interest, and joy. The experience of sharing that pleasure will bring great rewards all around.
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by Anastasia Tsioulcas
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