Monday, August 27, 2012

Baby music and milestones


photo source: arayeh.org
Milestones are a huge part of your children’s lives—and many parents are on the brink of a major one as school starts in just a few days. Whether it’s preschool or kindergarten, it’s always a huge moment, all the way through to when you send your children off to college. Other important milestones include when a child takes their first step, says their first words and gets potty trainers. Milestones occur often—from dancing along to baby music, learning to play and feeding themselves for the first time.

In a child’s early years, they’re immersed in processes of cognitive thinking, which refers to learning through listening, language, memory, watching, touching, reading and reasoning.  Their early babbling sounds soon become words, names, and ultimately, sentences. There are a lot of easy things parents can do to make the most of this important time. To start, singing children’s songs and talking to your baby will calm them and start to help them recognize words and identify their meanings.

Reading to your baby is also an excellent way to help them begin to understand language and sounds. Your tone will help overall comprehension, so be animated when reading or telling a story. The best way to use baby toys to help children develop language skills is by interacting with them and letting them experience the story. This is especially easy to do when you’re reading musical baby books to them. For example, you can sing children’s songs directly to them, as if you were in a conversation. You should also respond to your child when they make sounds—this is another great way to help them develop their language skills.

When you play baby music for your child, this will help them develop a love for music while stimulating their brain development. So pop in those baby CDs and get moving to some fun children’s songs.

In general, the best way to use baby toys is with safety at the forefront of your mind. You know that you need to childproof your house before you first bring them home, but you also have to ensure that all the toys they play with are completely safe. Don’t take anyone else’s word for it—read the directions on the packaging and do research about all the toys they come in contact with. The great things about our baby music toys is that they are all completely safe for babies and toddlers—make sure that’s the case for every toy the play with.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Back to school with baby music

source: dreamstime.com

We know it’s not fun to think about but summer is coming to an end soon. Before you know it, you just might be sending your toddler off to pre-school. This is the perfect time to prep them for the experience with baby music!

If you get your child up and dancing and wiggling around to a CD filled with baby music, you’ll be sure to boost their self-esteem and get them ready for the whole new world of socializing that they’re about to be exposed to. Moving around to music will also help them develop and learn rhythm skills—and scientific research shows that this helps to build areas of the brain that bolsters their ability to learn math and science. Who knew baby music could help with areas that seem so different?

Listening and singing along to children’s songs will also help them to develop their comprehension skills, which are critical to helping them learn the alphabet and how to read. Even just playing a baby CD for them significantly boosts their listening abilities, which in turn benefits their social skills. They’ll be more apt to pay attention when it’s someone else’s turn to share in Show and Tell.

A CD filled with baby music like Favorite Silly Songs, Preschool Favorites or Favorite Toddler Tunes are great choices for getting them excited about movement—and the content will keep them captivated.

Another fun way to encourage children to learn and sing along with children’s songs are some of our Sing-a-long board books, such as The Wheels on the Bus, 5 Little Monkeys Jumpin’ on the Bed and the old school favorite, Old MacDonald Had a Farm. This is a great way to help little ones learn the alphabet—and why not get a head start on that before they start school? You’ll have fun and bond with your child by reading and singing along with them—and it’ll bring you back to your own back to school days!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Telling stories with musical baby toys


source: socyberty.com
Many studies show that nearly 50 percent of children start school with mediocre to poor language skills. Learning the art of storytelling can instill a love of words and language in children—imagine what they will garner from learning to tell stories with musical baby toys

Research also shows that there is a direct link between a child’s ability to communicate with their long-term academic success and social progress. By the time a child starts kindergarten, we have a good idea of their vocabulary level. Baby music toys have been proven to enhance a child’s language skills, expand their vocabulary and improve their listening skills. This is why starting to work with baby music toys and baby DVD products when children are toddlers is so instrumental in their overall growth and development.

Learning to tell stories helps a child develop their social skills—they learn that their body is a tool for communication and that tones can be used to emphasize the content of what they say. If you combine the practice of telling stories with the use of musical baby toys, you’ll have a stimulating form of play that advances your child’s development on so many levels.

When you pop a baby DVD in for your child to watch and listen to, they are also learning about storytelling. Even baby music DVDs allow for them to learn from the story being told through children’s songs and the associated visuals. They will expand their vocabulary and learn the meaning of certain words, while also learning how a storyteller’s tones and inflection can enhance comprehension of what they’re trying to convey.

Baby music DVDs also encourage children to move and dance, teaching them rhythm and further increasing their understanding of how their body is also a tool for communication. The animated communication coupled with stimulating visuals will encourage them to listen to and share with others, which will, in turn, help with the development of social skills.

Whether you work with baby music toys or sing along to children’s songs on the radio or a baby CD, you’re offering your child a new way of understanding, while exposing them to a vast array of social and educational benefits. Who knew it could be so easy?

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

How a Baby CD can save your vacation


source: pregnancyandbaby.com
August is here and many families take this time to get away from reality and take a break. Last week, we talked about some of the best baby toys for road trips—but whether you pack up the family car or fly away to an island getaway, having a baby CD or two or some other musical baby toys can save the day when you’ve got some time to kill, are looking to relax or need to keep your child occupied.

There’s nothing like singing children’s songs with your infant or toddler to make traveling time pass quickly. But there are also times when encouraging your child to sing along with a baby CD can keep them happy and occupied during downtime on your vacation. If you’re at the beach all day and they don’t realize how tired they actually are, playing some soothing songs for them will help them organically crave naptime when their schedule is all turned around.

If you happen to have an iPad or your hotel room has a DVD player, you’re in serious luck! Playing DVDs with baby music is a perfect way to entertain them after dinner. They may not have all of their favorite toys with them on the trip, but that’s easily forgotten when they’re watching the fun and stimulating scenes of toddling tigers, fuzzy orangutans and other newborns play at the San Diego Zoo in the popular Baby Animals Favorite Sing-A-Longs DVD. It features fun children’s songs that are nearly impossible not sing and dance along to.

When on vacation, children’s schedules get thrown off and bedtime may come a little later than usual. This is another great time to take advantage of some baby music. You can pop in an obvious choice such as the Favorite Lullabies baby CD or Favorite Classical Tunes, which includes famous composers from Bach to Beethoven.

There are also awesome
DVDs with baby music that feature soothing songs—Mozart and Friends Sleepytime is the perfect way to expose your child to the classics while lulling them to sleep.

There’s also a great new collection available from Baby Genius—Precious Moments, which contains inspirational messages. The Precious Moments Lullabies CD is another no-brainer, offering soothing vocals and beautiful sounds.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The best baby toys for road trips

Source: joyababy.com
It’s summertime and most of us are bound to take a vacation in coming weeks. So what are the best baby toys for keeping your little ones entertained while on a road trip?

Your best bet is to find fun and portable toys that will keep your child captivated for the actual travel time involved, as well as downtime on the trip. If you’re planning a road trip, you’ll be in a great place if you pick up some baby music CDs. You can have sing-a-longs with your little ones to pass the time away, while simultaneously helping them to develop their memorization skills and expand their vocabulary. You can try some fun options such as Baby Genius’ Favorite Silly Songs, a compilation of zany musical rhymes and quirky songs about animals and people. Another good choice is the 2 CD set, Favorite Nursery Rhyme Songs.

If you have an infant, you can lull them to sleep with other baby music CDs, including Favorite Lullabies, which is a no-brainer for helping babies get a little shut-eye. Another favorite baby CD for soothing infants, toddlers and parents alike is Favorite Classical Tunes, which features over 30 musical pieces from Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and many more of the world's most loved composers.

If you are lucky enough to have an iPad or DVD player in the car, then why not get some DVDs that feature baby music coupled with stimulating visuals to keep them occupied for many hours. You can choose from an entertaining array that can introduce your child to everything from Mozart and math concepts to baby animals and underwater creatures.

Both infants and toddlers will be enthralled by Favorite Counting Songs, which uses stunning visuals to help expose children to the wonderful world of numbers. They’ll learn how to count from one to 10 as they watch footage of children in a karate class, a marching band, a rowing club and practicing cheerleading moves. One of the most popular DVDs that features baby music is Underwater Adventures, which pairs fun classical music with colorful imagery of underwater sea life such as dolphins, manta rays, sea lions, manta rays and more.

Great baby toys will affect your child in many positive ways, from teaching them words and numbers to inspiring physical, emotional and social growth. The best baby toys will do all that and keep them entertained during road trips and other forms of summer travel!