The single most important gift you can give your child is a loving, stimulating, and happy childhood. You are your child's best teacher. Just as food nourishes a baby's growing body, the elements of music-melody, tone and harmony-nourish a baby's rapidly developing brain. Even before children are born, research shows that music has a beneficial effect on the network of neurons that will be the foundation of their later learning, language development and music ability. Music for Babies fosters the brain growth crucial to healthy young minds.

Our Music for Babies CDs have been carefully crafted to provide the kind of musical nourishment that scientific study has shown will actively support optimum brain development in a child's early years. By playing this music, you help build a strong foundation for the innate potential of your infant or toddler.

Will Classical Music make your Baby Smarter?
Will listening to classical music make your baby more intelligent? Although all the research is not yet in, there is plenty of evidence to say "Why not try?" It's such a simple way to help babies. Evidence is showing that music has the power to increase intellectual ability by stimulating electrical responses in the brain, promoting creativity, increasing receptivity to learning by inducing a relaxed state, and capitalizing on instinctive body rhythms which stimulate conceptual ability. Hence, we have the so-called Mozart Effect. It has even been recognized that babies develop listening abilities even before birth. Dr. Alfred Tomatis, a French physician, discovered that playing Mozart's music can help develop speech, improve motor skills and aid memory development. Tomatis believed that music and sound effected the baby befoe birth - while in was still in the womb.

Babies Even Remember Music Heard in the Womb
Children recognize and prefer music they were exposed to in the womb for at least a year after they are born, according to the results of a small UK study. Dr. Alexandra Lamont of the University of Leicester studied 14 mothers who played a particular piece of music--ranging from classical to reggae and pop--to their babies during the last 3 months of pregnancy.

At the age of 1 year, 11 of the babies were tested for their ability to recognize the music. "All babies showed a significant preference for the pieces of music they were exposed to in the womb over very similar tunes they had not heard previously," Lamont said in an interview with Reuter Health.

According to Lamont, a fetus can fully hear sounds outside the womb beginning at about 20 weeks after conception. This study, she notes, demonstrates that babies can remember--and prefer--music they heard before they were born. None of the babies were exposed to the prenatal tunes between birth and their first birthday. This, according to Lamont, means that preferences found in this study were based on long-term memory.

"This is the first time that memory in babies has been shown to last more than 1 or 2 months," she said.

A separate group of 11 babies who had not been played the music in the womb were tested with the same pieces of music and showed no particular preferences.

"Early shared experiences are a crucial part of childhood development,"Lamont said. "When they recognized the music, some babies also turned around to their mothers, indicating that the music played some sort of role in developing an emotional bond."

According to Lamont, babies did not show a preference for a particular musical style--recognizing reggae as often as they did Mozart. Lamont plans to study how long a baby's memory of a piece of music lasts. She will also look at how musical taste develops and how it fits with family preferences and prenatal exposure.

"All babies like fast, exciting music at the age of 12 months, but we may find that preferences for music they were played in the womb may return later in life," she added.

Lamont emphasized that she found no evidence that playing music to babies, whether classical or pop, improved their intelligence.

According to Professor Peter Hepper, an expert on prenatal development at Queens University in Belfast, "These results are exciting as they suggest that the developing brain is capable of storing and recovering memories over a long period of time."

In an interview with Reuter Health, Hepper said, "Obviously, there must be underlying changes in the brain to enable this recognition, but whether such early exposure leads to preferences for certain types of music in later life in presently unknown. Whether these babies will be more musical, given their early education is also unknown."

He added, "At a more general level, the results indicate that environmental factors experienced by the fetus may have a long-term influence on its development. And they support the growing realisation that the prenatal period is more important than previously thought."

Tips for Helping Your Baby Enjoy Music and Preserving Health

• Try to place your baby in the center of the speakers. All or our Baby CDs were created in stereo and this will have more of an effect on the baby. You will be able to see the baby trying to turn it's head and you'll see more responses to the music.
• Set aside one half-hour a day for music listening. Do this together with your baby and experience the harmony it'll bring for both you and your baby.
• Do not expose your baby to sounds of the radio all day long. Your baby will interpret the music as 'normal sound' and will not effectively listen to it. This will result in less interest for music at a later age.
• Never use headphones on your baby. While it may look cute, you might damage the baby's sensitive ears the first time doing it.
• Beware of toy sounds. Some of the newer toys feature digital sound effects that may be too loud for your baby's ears.
• Our Baby CDs have a therapeutic effect. At later age, your child will continue to enjoy the relaxing effects of our Baby CD series, as they are unconsciously reminded of their peaceful baby period.

About the Author
Randi Fredricks is a Naturopathic Physician, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Certified Clinical Herbalist, Certified Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist Trainee and Registered Addiction Specialist. Dr. Fredricks runs her own natural health business counseling clients and health workshops. She can be reached by phone at 408-315-0645 or via email at randi@allthingswell.com. You may also visit her website at www.randifredricks.com.