Why should you make music and movement a normal part of daily life in your home? Why should you pay for early childhood music classes for your babies and toddlers? There are many benefits individual children gain from early exposure to music, but there are five benefits that all children can get from early childhood music exposure. These are the four reasons that your child should be instilled with a love of music from the earliest age possible:

#1: Music and movement can keep children physically healthy.

Children are just like adults in their needs. They need to move their bodies every day, and they need healthy foods to fuel that movement. These are the very basic requirements for a healthy body, and children have the requirement just as much as adults. In fact, it may be even more important for children to get exercise and healthy foods, since their lifestyle in childhood will strongly influence their lifestyle and health as adults.

Music and movement go together naturally, so music is a great form of exercise. Turn on something upbeat and watch your children come to life! Get off the couch and get some exercise with them. Exercising for a half hour a few times a week will help keep your children healthy. It can contribute to their happiness as well.

#2: Music is a powerful form of self-expression.

It is clear that adults routinely express themselves through music. How many times have you seen a friend on Facebook post lyrics to a song that they connect with or that perfectly say how they are feeling in the moment? It is very common for adults to express themselves through music and movement, and it is something that can be learned from early childhood music exposure as well.

Your child can learn to express themselves and feel the emotion of a song, even before they can connect with the lyrics. Give them early childhood music exposure and they will learn to express themselves to music and connect to music in a deeper level as they get older.

#3: Music can be used as an effective form of stress relief.

Music can also be very relaxing. You can actually use music and movement to calm a toddler throwing a temper tantrum or soothe a teenager going through a difficult time with friends. If you have ever danced it out on the dance floor or put on the iPod for a soothing run and felt better in the end, you know how important music and movement can be to children as well.

#4: You can bond with your child through music and movement.

There is nothing like a happy dance to create a bond between parent and child. Parents who get down on the floor and play with their children often have much tighter bonds than parents who sit on the couch watching television. The same goes for enjoying those early childhood music experiences. Enjoy them with your child and create that bond.

What better reasons could you need to instill a love of music in your child? Find an early childhood music program in your area and see what music can bring to their life, now and in the future.