Birthday Bash: Baby Genius Music CD / DVD

One of my goals as a parent is to use a classical education philosophy with my children. I am still sorting through what exactly that means in daily practice. But one thing you can’t deny, good music is… good for kids. I grew up with classical music. Soothing, rhythmic, complex, thoughtful.

I’ve read kids who listen to classical music are better at mathematics. The band teacher at my former school told me a child’s musical aptitude is set by age four. And if you haven’t cultivated a musical background in the child by then, they will simply fail to have one. For example, a child who was not raised listening to music as a baby/toddler might try to learn an instrument later in elementary or middle school, but it will be very difficult for them to handle.

That startled me. I assumed music appreciation could just “happen” if you wanted it to. But I guess not (don’t quote me, I didn’t scientifically research this, I’m reporting what I heard… but it makes sense, and now I WANT to research it, so that might be another post).

I already love classical music, and we play music daily in the house. Two CDs we have been listening to lately are Baby Genius’s Mozart and Friends and A Trip to the San Diego Zoo. Here’s what Baby Genius says about the positive effects of music on children:

Music helps improve motor skills and builds vocabularies and speech patterns with the repetition of familiar nursery rhyme songs. Music stimulates and encourages creativity, builds self esteem, arouses curiosity, nurtures self confidence and trains little brains.

Wow – all that? Play it again, Sam!

Since we aren’t allowing our baby to have screen time at this point, I love that Baby Genius offers this collection as both a CD and a DVD. That means for now, my baby can enjoy the music in the house and car. When he’s older and we’re comfortable letting him watch a little supervised video, he’ll love the terrific visuals and animations of the DVDs (yes, I watched them for the review!)! It’s the perfect answer for parents like us who are cautious about incorporating technology into our baby’s life.

Mozart and Friends – well, obviously is a set of 12 songs by Mozart in soft arrangements. The DVD uses colors, shapes, letters, numbers to stimulate your child’s imagination while the music plays!

A Trip to the San Diego Zoo – this was my favorite DVD to watch, and it was a Parent’s Magazine video of the year award winner! As the video shows a montage of animals in their zoo habitats, a variety of classical compositions play. The Baby Genius characters pop up from time to time doing funny things. I think all kids will LOVE seeing the zoo animals!

We have so many pictures of our baby standing by the CD player just begging for me to turn on the music. He has figured out how to turn the CD player on himself, actually, but then he bangs on the player and usually pushes pause, or turns the volume down. But he loves his music! If the music isn’t playing he will look at me, and then smile, hum and wiggle his little butt back and forth until I turn the music back on! Super cute!

These two sets of Baby Genius classical music have been met with rave reviews at our house! And at $9.95 per set, they are a steal for a birthday gift!

Want some FREE music from Baby Genius? Try their Free Downloads – several songs available! You’ll be please to know that all the Baby Genius products utilize music in some way to help children intereact with their toys, books, and videos. Literacy (number and letter recognition) is also a huge part of their product focus.

What’s your favorite music you play for your kids?

Buy It: Online or in stores, you will find a huge selection of toys, books, CDs, DVDs and other baby gear that will educate and stimulate your child’s mind!

Disclosure: I was sent a product to facilitate this review. I was not compensated in any other way, and all opinions are 100% my own.