Parental preferences to music stimuli of devices and playthings for babies, infants, and toddlers

Abstract

Music communications and interactions are important to child development. Yet modern day technology may have caused social modifications of musical engagement for parents and their children. Today, music-based electronic devices seem too often to be used in place of human musical interactions. The current investigation developed an alternative music based on pre-language sounds (for devices and playthings) that we assume can engage babies, and presented these to parents for their judgment. In Study 1, parents of babies in waiting rooms of child development centers completed a survey after listening to three different music genres (classical music themes, well-known folk tunes, and paralanguage songs). Study 2 replicated Study 1 but within home settings. Study 3 engaged mothers and babies in a music-movement group. The results indicate that not only are parents open to alternatives, but they can envision purchasing devices and playthings which employ new more adaptive music genres that might be more age appropriate and developmentally sound.

Musical Parenting and Music Education: Integrating Research and Practice

“…Singing has been reported as a main activity between parents and young children (Custodero, 2006; Ilari, 2005). Parents and young children have also described listening to recorded music, watching music videos, and playing with music toys and play things (Sulkin & Brodsky, 2014; Young, 2008) together. Aside from music interactions in the home (Addessi, 2009), young children and their families have been found to engage musically in public spaces like the subway (Custodero, Cali, & Diaz-Donoso, 2016) and music classes (Koops, 2011).…”

“…Aside from music interactions in the home (Addessi, 2009), young children and their families have been found to engage musically in public spaces like the subway (Custodero, Cali, & Diaz-Donoso, 2016) and music classes (Koops, 2011). Repertoires found in these practices included invented tunes, lullabies, playsongs, parodies, and potpourris of familiar songs (Sulkin & Brodsky, 2014; Young, 2008), to name a few.…”

The expression of music throughout the lives of expectant parents

“…Music as expressed within the parent–infant relationship can be an agent for communication, emotional expression, and bonding for parents and infants, and can influence the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of infants (Sulkin & Brodsky, 2015). Our results highlight the intergenerational transmission of music and the ways in which music is transmitted via central early relationships.…”

Does music help children grow up? Parental views from a longitudinal panel study

“…Families are also the primary institutions that foster children’s language acquisition and enculturation (Kramsch, 2003). Children across all known human cultures are born into and exposed to music in their homes and environments (Cross, 2003; Trippett, 2012), which suggests a certain importance of music experiences and interactions in familial relationships (Reeves, 2015; Sulkin & Brodsky, 2015). Therefore, questions arise as to the contribution of cultural techniques in general, and the role of familial musical activities in particular, to facilitate development and acculturation.…”