The Benefits of Music Exposure for Kids

Many parents enjoy bonding with their children through music, but may not realize how healthy music is for a child’s development. Listening to music can enhance everything from motor skills to academic performance for your child, and the benefits of music for kids’ brains start with simple exposure at home and in your community. Here are just a few of the advantages of exposing your child to music:

• Enhanced language development. Particularly for children aged 2-9, listening to music is beneficial for developing language skills. Kids love singing along to song lyrics, and you can help expand their vocabulary by talking to them about what the words mean. 
• Coordinated motor skills. Listening to music naturally prompts children to move to its rhythm. This allows them to learn new motor skills (and dance moves). At the same time, their brain is processing the music in other ways. Listening, singing, and dancing all at once helps children gain coordination and build valuable neural pathways.
• Decreased stress and improved focus. Performing or listening to music reduces stress for everyone, including children. This in turn can improve their focus on whatever task is at hand. Particularly if your family is having a stressful year, helping your child find their favorite type of music can boost their performance at school and elsewhere. 
• Improved social development. Verbalizations and body language are important tools for communication, and our ability to communicate is essential for healthy socializing. Watching live music performances not only allows kids to connect the music with its human performer, but also encourages them to link song lyrics, facial expressions, and physical movements to specific emotions. They can learn to express themselves using all of these—and may even want to learn an instrument. 

• Sense of community and culture. You can learn a lot about a region or community by listening to its music, and kids pick up on this as well. Exposing them to different genres and eras of music can help them understand their own culture and history as well as others’. This also strengthens their connection with their community and sparks curiosity about other cultures and styles of music.

• Family fun. Attending local concerts as a family is a great way to have a fun night out while awakening children’s interest in music genres and artists. It’s also a fantastic way to make happy memories!

Introduce Your Child to Good Music at Main Street Crossing

Main Street Crossing in Tomball, Texas is one of the best small music venues in the Houston metro area. This unique facility in a historical building hosts country, Americana, folk, blues, and other types of music artists in family-friendly “up close concerts”: the furthest seat is only 45 feet from the stage. MSC also offers food, beverages, and community seating, making it easier to interact with fellow concertgoers and even performing artists. 

Main Street Crossing additionally functions as a multi-use venue for church services, concerts, and more located in Tomball. Check out our event calendar and plan a fun family night out! You can also join us in giving back to society through music, and enjoy entertainment in support of good causes!

• DaVinci Artists Gallery Fresh Art Open House. On the 2nd Saturday of each month, the DaVinci Artists Gallery holds an exhibition that is open to the public. Walk in, try a complimentary appetizer and glass of wine, and chat with local artists about their work. You’ll learn more about what interests and inspires the artists in your community, and you may decide to come home with a new piece of art to enjoy. 
• Glassblowing Houston. Sign up for a glass-blowing demo or class with Glassblowing Houston: Three-Dimensional Visions. Consider booking a demo to get a sense of how glass is made, then take the leap and make some yourself. Either way, it’s an effortless way to strike up conversations with expert glassblowers, observers, and anyone who loves learning new skills.

Attend an “Up Close Concert” at Main Street Crossing

The greater Houston metro area is also well known for its excellent live music shows and venues, including Tomball’s own Main Street Crossing. This unique multi-use nonprofit venue hosts country, Americana, folk, blues, and other types of music in an intimate setting that also offers food and beverages. It also has air conditioning, so you can listen in breezy comfort. Check out our event calendar and enjoy entertainment in support of good causes!

At MSC, we take great pride in how we seat our customers. When a group doesn’t fill the table, we seat them with other ticket holders at the same table. This makes for excellent conversations! So come early and have dinner before the show. You just might meet your new best friends!