Literacy news
Why Mummy beats Mozart in the hit parade for babies
21 Jun 2006
When it comes to favourite lullabies, babies prefer Mummy to Mozart every time. They appreciate their mothers' attempts at holding a tune much more than the finest recording, a study has found. So introducing a child to music at an early age could simply mean turning off the CD player or radio and starting to sing.
Researcher Dr. Shannon de l'Etoile said such sing-songs encourage bonding between mother and baby. Dr. de l'Etoile, a music therapist from the University of Miami, believes babies respond to the familiarity of their mothers' voices. Mothers also have the ability to choose songs and alter their delivery to match their babies' moods.
Previous studies have shown music calms babies and can speed their recovery from illness. Listening to classical music is even thought to boost brainpower. Dr. de l'Etoile said: "Mothers can use singing to convey emotional information. Singing allows mothers and infants to synchronise their emotional states. Singing may help mothers and infants establish a secure relationship needed for optimal infant development."
The study examined how 60 babies, between six and nine months old, reacted to various types of singing. The infants sat in their pushchairs while their mothers sang a selection of songs they chose themselves. The women were also asked to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. One of the researchers also sang the nursery rhyme to the children. Finally, the babies listened to some lively recorded music.
Their reactions, such as laughter, crying, clapping and bouncing, showed they much preferred their mothers' voices to the recorded music. Mothers' attempts at their favourite songs and at Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star scored three times as highly as the recording. However, the babies' overall favourite was the researcher's particularly tuneful version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
Writing in the journal Infant Behaviour & Development, the researchers said this was an unexpected result. They explained it by pointing out that their researchers were musically trained, which made them more of a hit than the mothers who felt nervous about singing in public.
Previous studies have confirmed the benefits of Mozart. Students who listened to his music for ten minutes before an exam did better than those who listened to other composers or none at all, a German study found. The frequency and rhythmic qualities of Mozart's music is thought to stimulate the brain.
(Fiona MacRae, Daily Mail, 21 June 2006)
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