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Anytime. Anywhere. Access to digital devices means we can listen to music and experience all its benefits.
The ability to curate a playlist for any occasion provides kids with motivation, emotional comfort, and opportunities to connect socially.
Streaming services with safety filters allow kids to plug into an age-appropriate range of musical content.
Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness, including intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together.
—Bright Horizons
Mental Benefits From Listening to Music
Access to music can help kids feel happier, motivated to be active, and less stressed.
Mood booster
It can be a challenge for young people to manage their emotions, and music can help them process these feelings. When it comes to improving mood, mindset is the most critical factor.
When they know that listening to music will help them, they can turn to it when they need an emotional boost. It can serve as a healthy solution when they are feeling blue.
Listening to music they love will increase their dopamine and serotonin levels, which contribute to how they feel enjoyment and happiness.[11]
Chatting about the feelings music genres or specific songs evoke can make for some great conversation.
Regularly listening to positive music can influence well-being.[5]
Kids can learn to find happy music. Trust them to choose tunes that foster those positive emotions. Sharing music that inspires and uplifts everyone is also a great opportunity to bond.
Endurance and motivation
Whether your child is interested in sports or pursuing a creative project, streaming music can keep them motivated and increase their grit.
In stressful situations, music can distract and make the task easier to handle so that the listener can tolerate the activity longer.
One study found that endurance during physical activities increased when listeners played music they preferred.
Motivation and endurance are essential skills for kids, whether they’re taking on new hobbies, school assignments, or job responsibilities.
Listening to music your child loves can motivate them to push past their perceived limits while keeping the experience enjoyable.
Stress management
Music is a powerful tool in managing stress for children undergoing physical and emotional changes. It is often used in stress-relieving activities such as yoga and meditation.
Listening to calm music can help relax the body and mind, while music with positive lyrics can help us overcome negative emotions.[17]
Playing slower music was found to engage the body’s relaxation response as the listener’s brain synchronizes with the song’s beats.[10]
University of Nevada counselors suggest nature-related music—such as drumming rain sounds—is best for reducing stress. Just remember, for your child to relax with music, they need to be listening to tracks they enjoy.
When adolescents have a positive relationship with music, it improves their psychological distress.[9]
Finding music that gives this effect is easy, especially since many music streaming services have meditation and nature playlists readily available.
Cognitive improvements
Children are at a critical stage of learning and development. Hearing background music enhances their visual-spatial skills, or the ability to identify where objects are in space.
It also helps them perform simple tasks more easily. Because emotions and memory are closely linked, short-term memory recall improves when listening to music that evokes an emotional response.[2]
One study found that students who took music classes performed better academically than other students.
Music aids to resolve cognitive dissonance—a feeling of discomfort arising from having two conflicting beliefs. [4]
Instrumental music may be able to help children process information better. While your child is doing homework or studying, consider streaming a playlist of music without lyrics that will still resonate emotionally without being distracting.
Orchestra recordings or movie scores can be a helpful place to start looking for such music.
Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 7 (14%) 10-19 year-olds experience mental health conditions, yet these remain largely unrecognized and untreated.
—World Health Organization
Mental health
The World Health Organization estimates that about 10-20% of adolescents worldwide struggle with diagnosable mental disorders.[1] Taking the undiagnosed cases into account, it’s likely that this statistic is much higher.
For all those affected, incorporating music into their routine may be an effective way to offer support as they face those challenges.
Creating a positive environment with music can allow teens to calmly work through complex emotions that often accompany mental health struggles.
Music therapists and professionals can help by focusing on music’s scientific applications, but making music part of daily life can have similar effects.
In children, music can consciously and subconsciously influence and improve confidence, self-esteem, motivation, depression, anxiety, and sleeping disorders.[18]
Our children will benefit from music that resonates with their feelings and songs that boost their mood to be more optimistic.
Physical Benefits From Listening to Music
From creativity to pain management, music benefits listeners. Check out some of the following positive effects music has on the physical body.
Pain management
If you believe your child may need additional physical support, music can function as a form of healing and therapy.
Currently, nursing practices use music and music therapy to alleviate pain because of its tangible mental and physical benefits.
The use of music can reduce stress, distract from difficult tasks, and improve mood—all of which help pain management.
In a study with open-heart surgery patients, postoperative pain significantly decreased when they listened to music that provided comfort, familiarity, and a sense of control within their environment.[6]
Likewise, music was found to foster hope in adolescent and young adult cancer patients by functioning as a coping mechanism for psychological and physical pain.[12]
During tough times, streaming music that kids love is one way to apply music therapy principles to relieve negative symptoms.
Creativity booster
Creativity improves problem-solving skills and helps us cope with uncertainty. When we’re in a rut, we can either dig deeper or dig somewhere else—both forms of creativity.
When we dig deeper, we show persistence by sticking with a problem until we find a solution. Digging elsewhere demonstrates flexibility by experimenting with new ideas.
Create an inspiring music playlist with your kids to get the mental juices flowing, stimulate imagination, and strengthen problem-solving skills.
The ability to engage in divergent thinking is a valuable trait. Research shows that listening to uplifting music can increase this second type of creativity, improving our ability to think outside the box.[16]
As creativity positively influences a child’s cognitive, motor, language, social, and emotional development,[7] encouraging this skill is yet another way to foster child development.
Social connection
Music creates bonds between family and friends. As music increases oxytocin, a hormone associated with trust, it strengthens social relationships by bringing people together.
Participants experience this effect most when listening to their favorite music,[15] suggesting that shared musical experiences can help us connect.
Music can send social information to multiple people at once as a group process.
Study participants who reacted to music in a group changed their behaviors to create a sense of social belonging,[8] indicating that music can help us form strong and supportive communities.
Music Benefits Everyone
Streaming music services make life better. Aside from the emotional and physical benefits, it helps us connect, navigate life more successfully, grow our social network, and open up opportunities for parents and children to bond across generations.
Children develop interpersonal connections through music streaming — benefiting from technology while remaining off-screen. Ultimately, music can improve our well-being and bring families closer together.
If you’re looking for a better way to harness the positives of music while avoiding the negatives, take a look at Gabb Music. Gabb Music is a first-of-its-kind music streaming platform that draws from millions of songs across genres and eras to offer families a vast catalog of music without the worries.
Join the Conversation
What are the biggest benefits you’ve seen by exposing your kids to great music? What worries you most when it comes to music? Let us know in the comments below.
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References
- “Adolescent Mental Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 17 Nov. 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health Blackburn, K. B. (2018, February). How to get your heart rate up. MD Anderson Cancer Center. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/how-to-get-your-hear-rate-up.h23Z1592202.html
- Bottiroli, S., Rosi, A., Russo, R., Vecchi, T., & Cavallini, E. (2014). The cognitive effects of listening to background music on older adults: Processing speed improves with upbeat music, while memory seems to benefit from both upbeat and Downbeat Music. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00284
- Bright Horizons Education Team. (2022, February 25). Children and music: Benefits of Music in Child Development. Bright Horizons®. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/music-and-children-rhythm-meets-child-development
- Cabanac, A., Perlovsky, L., Bonniot-Cabanac, M.-C., & Cabanac, M. (2013). Music and academic performance. Behavioural Brain Research, 256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2013.08.023
- Ferguson, Y. L., & Sheldon, K. M. (2012). Trying to be happier really can work: Two experimental studies. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2012.747000
- Jafari, H., Zeydi, A. E., Khani, S., Esmaeili, R., & Soleimani, A. (2012). The effects of listening to preferred music on pain intensity after open heart surgery. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 17(1). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3590687/#__ffn_sectitle
- Lillard, A. S., Lerner, M. D., Hopkins, E. J., Dore, R. A., Smith, E. D., & Palmquist, C. M. (2012). The impact of pretend play on children's development: a review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029321
- Loersch, C., & Arbuckle, N. L. (2013). Unraveling the mystery of music: Music as an evolved group process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(5). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033691
- McFerran, K. S., Hense, C., Koike, A., & Rickwood, D. (2018). Intentional music use to reduce psychological distress in adolescents accessing primary mental health care. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 23(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518767231
- Mofredj, A., Alaya, S., Tassaioust, K., Bahloul, H., & Mrabet, A. (2016). Music therapy, a review of the potential therapeutic benefits for the critically ill. Journal of Critical Care, 35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrc.2016.05.021
- Moraes, M. M., Rabelo, P. C. R., Pinto, V. A., Pires, W., Wanner, S. P., Szawka, R. E., & Soares, D. D. (2018). Auditory stimulation by exposure to melodic music increases dopamine and serotonin activities in rat forebrain areas linked to reward and motor control. Neuroscience Letters, 673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2018.02.058
- O’Callaghan, C., Barry, P., & Thompson, K. (2012). Music’s relevance for adolescents and young adults with cancer: A constructivist research approach. Supportive Care in Cancer, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-011-1104-1
- Rasteiro, F. M., Messias, L. H. D., Scariot, P. P. M., Cruz, J. P., Cetein, R. L., Gobatto, C. A., & Manchado-Gobatto, F. B. (2020). Effects of preferred music on physiological responses, perceived exertion, and anaerobic threshold determination in an incremental running test on both sexes. PLOS ONE, 15(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237310
- Releasing stress through the power of Music: Counseling Services. University of Nevada, Reno. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power-of-music
- Riedl, R., Javor, A., Gefen, D., Felten, A., & Reuter, M. (2017). Oxytocin, trust, and trustworthiness: The moderating role of Music. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/npe0000070
- Ritter, S. M., & Ferguson, S. (2017). Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking. PLOS ONE, 12(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182210s
- Scott, E. (2021, March 28). Music Relaxation: A Healthy Stress Management Tool. Verywell Mind. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/music-as-a-health-and-relaxation-aid-3145191
- Leubner, D., & Hinterberger, T. (2017, July 7). Reviewing the effectiveness of music interventions in treating depression. Frontiers in psychology. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5500733/
Author Allyson Thayne
Allyson joined Gabb as a staff writer. She holds a degree in English Literature from Utah Valley University and is committed to informing parents and caregivers about all things tech.
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