Essex Babylab coffee morning: Combining research and practice to promote child development

Essex Babylab hosts monthly coffee mornings for parents with babies, those expecting a baby, or anyone interested in learning more about infant development and tips to promote positive and healthy child development. This is also a wonderful forum where parents can interact and share their experiences. There is no ‘one size fits all’ manual to parenting, and thus through these events, Essex Babylab aims to share up-to-date scientific discoveries with the parents and help them explore and know more about their own babies.

The January coffee morning focused on musicality and rhythm in babies. Music has been shown to play a vital role in child development. Have you observed babies smiling or swaying when music is played? Or have you seen them bang on pots and pans, jamming to their hearts' content?

It goes without saying that babies love and benefit greatly from music. Music has traditionally been a part of child development in the form of lullabies. It is interesting to note that a musical environment can contribute to the child’s sensory and cognitive development by means of children being not only recipients but also producers of music.

During the first half of our session, Dr Sinead Rocha from Anglia Ruskin University spoke to us about her research on rhythm perception and production in infants. She shed light on how humans, and infants in particular, have and develop musical skills. If we carefully observe, we can note that children have a natural rhythmic tempo that their movements coordinate. They also have the ability to synchronise their movements to the rhythms and beats that they hear.

Dr Rocha also argues that the experience of being carried can mould a child’s sense of and preference for rhythm. She further elucidated her current studies and how the findings could be made relevant to parents with infants. Thus, we note how babies are natural musicians and have a knack for tones, notes, and beats from a very young age.

The talk was then followed by a break for everyone to grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. The second half of the event was a taster session conducted by Elizabeth Whitworth from Rhythm Time, Colchester. Rhythm Time conducts fun, developmental music classes for children.

Ms Whitworth facilitated a range of musical activities for the children during which parents and children engaged in various interactions, making it a bonding moment. A wide range of toys and equipment, ranging from a rattle to a drum, was used. Ms Whitworth explained the benefits of each task while conducting them, which helped the parents understand why each activity was important. From infants to pre-schoolers, all of them thoroughly enjoyed the session. The room was filled with music, smiles, and giggles, from parents and children alike.

The next coffee morning will be on Saturday 25th February at Wivenhoe Park Day Nursery (10am-12pm), and will focus on sensory development, with an overview of the research by Dr Carina De Klerk and a taster session by Baby Sensory Colchester and Witham. Join us to learn about scientific discoveries and hot tips from our lab!