There are several things we’re told as parents that are essential to a child’s development, like eating healthy, getting enough sleep, being physically active, monitoring screen time… the list goes on and on, and it can be overwhelming.

Yet, a fun way to positively impact your child’s growth is through music! From jamming out in the car on the way to school to putting on soft music while your teen studies, music can positively impact a child’s confidence, help them express themselves, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking.

Music Impacting Children
As parents, we want our children to be confident and robust thinkers so that when they’re faced with problems or obstacles, they’re able to navigate through them. One way to achieve this is by children learning how to manage their emotions. By children listening to music and playing with instruments, it can provide a safe space for them to explore their feelings.

According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, which focused on children ages 3-12, “The students that took part in activities using music were more capable of recognizing and expressing their emotions and regulating their emotional states, such as aggression or anger.”

Depending on how old your child is, they might be in the tantrum stage or mood-swing era. Either way, it’s vital for children and teens to understand and cope with their emotions in a healthy and sustainable way.

Another way to help the development of our children is by making them confident individuals. We want our children to feel proud of themselves and have the self-esteem to cope with the mistakes they make.

“One of the most well-known benefits of music is that it can help improve your self-esteem,” states the School of Rock. “This is because music can activate the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine in the brain, which can help boost our mood and make us feel more positive about ourselves.”

Finally, to overcome obstacles, it’s vital for children to be strong, individual thinkers. Music inspires children to be creative, which in turn, encourages different ways of thinking and problem-solving. We want our children to be out-of-the-box thinkers, and music can help them explore different creative avenues.

Some children find confidence through sports or school, and others can find their bliss and boost their self-esteem by listening, playing, or performing music.

A Local Kiddo Performing
Having stage fright, while either giving a speech or performing in front of an audience, is a common confidence problem adults and children deal with.

Amazingly, an 11-year-old, Kai White, DJs and does live performances at Bounce Empire. His parents, who are also DJs, taught him at a young age, and Kai says he doesn’t get very nervous anymore because he’s been performing in front of people for a while now. Kai is an open-format DJ, which means he plays all kinds of music, but he prefers electronic dance music.

Kai rarely gets nervous, but when he does, he realizes it’s because of intrusive thoughts like asking himself, “What if I mess up?” Even when he gets these nervous thoughts, he continues to rock out on stage and influence children his age to follow their passions.

“My favorite part about Bounce Empire is performing there and having the opportunity to perform,” Kai says. “It’s cool for me to have a chance to actually DJ in a place.”

Kai’s advice for kids who are nervous when they perform is to be confident. If you make one mistake, it’s just a little mistake – it happens, Kai adds.

Exposing Children to Music
Before performing at Bounce Empire, Kai had started performing at sales conventions, functions, birthday parties, and other events through his father’s public school program, School of Beats.

“We [School of Beats] use music that kids know and love to increase engagement and get them excited about music education,” states the School of Beats. “The performance component develops self-confidence and provides a social outlet for kids to collaborate on performances and mashup projects.”

There are several ways to expose your child to music, like signing your kiddo up for lessons, playing different genres on the way to soccer practice, or encouraging them to jam out in the living room.

Another way to get your child excited about music is by attending a Movie at the Symphony, where the Colorado Symphony performs live while a film is projected on screens. The next Movie at the Symphony is Star Wars: A New Hope at Boettcher Concert Hall.

Another unique way for children to get exposed to music is by heading to Bounce Empire on Saturdays. Every Saturday, there will be a kid DJ, like Kai, performing live. This is a great way for kids to get excited about music and see a kid-friendly live performance.