Benefits of dancing or bouncing in time to music with your baby or toddler
BENEFIT OF DANCING IN TIME WITH OTHER PEOPLE (GROUPS):
This was a small but exciting study conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Canada. In the study toddlers were bounced to music in time with another adult (facing them and not parent) After the dance the toddler and adult were left alone together and the adult drops a peg and gestures that they can’t reach it. The study showed that toddlers who danced in time with the adult were more likely (60% compared to 30% who did not dance together) to assist by picking up the peg for the adult. Study suggests that this type of group dancing to the beat increases altruistic behavior…and we get more helpful children! Our own observations of toddlers who attend our group music classes are that they usually dance more and interact more when their own parent also joins in with the dancing too. After group dancing activities the toddlers are extremely helpful and handing back props. After group dancing activities the toddlers tend to interact more with each and can be often observed hugging each other or offering things to each other.
For more on this research click on the link:
