Research-backed
Once you have a baby, there will be several moments of “firsts” that you’ll get with them. From the first words to the first steps, every milestone they cross is a celebration, and as new parents, these are moments you live for. When your baby starts walking, typically after 10 or 11 months (but can differ from baby to baby), you cannot help but get excited every time they take a few steps. It’s normal for parents to feel this way and to encourage their babies to walk more. Many parents sit a few steps across from their infants and encourage them to walk towards them. This is an excellent exercise for your baby, and it satisfies the proud parent in you. Helping your baby walk not only aids in their physical growth and development but also strengthens the bond between you and your baby.
Another common and fun way to bond with your baby is through song and dance. Babies can be introduced to dance and gentle movements from the earliest weeks after birth. They can pick up rhythmic beats and register them to make the moves. Several babies also move their toes and fingers to the rhythms of the music. Some babies even move their hands, mimicking a clapping motion or even kicking their feet in the air while enjoying music.
Remember that they were rocked and swayed in the uterus for nine whole months. Therefore, they find similar movements soothing. Babies also feel relaxed while being swayed, which is why most babies fall asleep easily while being swayed or rocked gently.
Babies Love To Dance: An Experiment
To understand an infant’s disposition towards dance, researchers conducted a study where they played recordings of classical music, rhythmic beats, and speech to infants. They videotaped the results and had professional ballet dancers analyze the results to understand how much in tune the babies’ movements (if any) were to the music’s rhythm.
The babies were made to sit on adults’ laps who wore the headphones that played music. They ensured that the babies could not hear the music, and the adults were instructed not to move. What they observed in the results was mind blowing. Despite not being directly exposed to the headphones’ sound, researchers saw that the babies moved their legs, hands, torso, heads, and feet in response to the music. They observed lesser to no movement with the speech recordings (1).
What Are The Benefits Of Dancing With Your Baby?
Dancing is a fun bonding activity. It has several benefits and helps boost your baby’s growth and development. Here are some of the common benefits of dance (2):
- Physical Development
Dance includes movements that engage different types of muscles, limbs, and joints in the body. Even if it involves gentle movements, it requires coordination, strength, and flexibility, which can be improved with dance.
- Emotional Maturity
Dance is a great medium of expression. For babies who do not know how to speak yet, engaging in dance movements can be a form of expression. It enhances physical release and establishes creative movement.
- Cognitive Development
Dance improves cognitive development because moving to music’s rhythm requires understanding the beat, tempo, and action. It helps in enhancing the cognitive function of babies and is a fun and easy way of expression.
While dance is considered one of the most creative and fun forms of expression, inculcating that practice and encouraging it right from when your kids are babies have numerous benefits. Besides, it’s a great bonding activity for you and your baby, and it keeps them active and can become a great skill in the future. It can also be a fun way to work out and get those muscles moving. Do you like to dance with your baby? Comment below and let us know. Also, share this article with others to tell them about the benefits of dance.
