It is no secret that music and dance have a multitude of benefits. However, today we will focus on how music and dance can help toddlers who may have developmental delays. With that being said, I am not a doctor or psychologist. However, hopefully the development benefits discussed can assist you in determining if music and dance classes will benefit your toddler.
Social Skills
Is your toddler struggling to make friends or initiate play with a friend? If so, a group class might be the perfect option to help them develop these skills. Our music and dance classes are conducted in a group environment that encourages social interaction with all of our students. Students will learn to take turns, encourage others, make friends, and work towards a common goal. In addition, toddlers will learn to understand themselves in relation to others.
Language Skills
Language delays in children are very common in toddlers. However, over the years the therapeutic, medical and educational communities have come to understand the power of music.
In The Well Balanced Child, written by Sally Goddard Blythe, she portrays music as the child’s second language. She defines the child’s first language as movement, and goes onto say movement moves into language when the baby is discovering his own movements and the environment. Before the child can speak words there is cooing and babbling. Babbling includes tone, pitch and cadence. Babies will imitate the rhythm of adult speech and adult sounds. This is all building a symphony of sounds so their vocabulary will be constructed when ready.
Did you also know that listening to or singing along with music uses the same neural circuits as expressing speech? Music, the rhythm, the beat, the cadence, even the lyrics share neural circuits used for language. Therapists can use this ability to help a child who struggles with language and speech skills to communicate.
Gross and Fine Motor Skills
Gross motor skills includes things like walking, jumping, and running, whereas, fine motor skills include small, precise thumb, finger, hand, and wrist movements. Music and dance classes will aide in the development of both!
Dance is a great recreational activity for children that can help to facilitate developing gross motor skills. Dance encourages balance, coordination, strength, and knowledge of where one’s body is in space.
In addition, music may help develop fine motor skills. In our Music Funtime class, toddlers will learn a wide variety of things including how to bang a tambourine, shake sleigh bells to a beat, and pass a balloon from student to student. They may also learn how to press the piano keys or bang on our drum set. Coloring is encouraged and arts and crafts projects are frequent.
Additional Information
There are many additional developmental benefits of music and dance classes for toddlers. If you would like more information about our specific class options please contact us today, we would love to help your toddler with any development goals you have.
