Strictly is back on the telly – hooray! Just the sound of the opening credits makes you want to get up off the sofa and do a cheeky salsa right there and then in your living room! Music and dancing makes us feel happy, its synonymous with fun, that’s probably why kids love it so much too…
Kids and even babies seem to naturally embrace classic beats, moving instinctively and rhythmically to all different types of music – we’ve all seen the incredibly cute videos on YouTube! As well as being fun, dancing is a great form or exercise and it is great for children’s development.
Here are five reasons why you need to move those mum hips or dust off your dad dancing skills with your little movers this weekend.
- It is important that young children move throughout the day to develop healthy sensory and motor development. Typically, 3-5 year olds should get at least 5 to 8 hours movement per day! (Don’t panic this can be done easily through walking to school, standing while doing activities, playing games, riding bikes and of course dancing!!)
- Music and Movement engages the brain while stimulating the neural pathways with higher forms of intelligence such as abstract thinking, empathy, and mathematics.
- Music is perfectly designed for training children’s listening skills. Good listening skills and achievement go hand in hand.
- Music and dance can be a great social activity –a family wedding, birthday party or school disco is where most of us learned to dance! Make sure your kids dance with friends and family as it encourages confidence and participation and can give them a sense of belonging. (Remember we don’t have to be good at singing or dancing to enjoy it, so never tell a child that they can’t dance or sing.)
- Music and movement is a great tool to explore children’s emotions and very useful for them to express how they are feeling and is often used for relaxation sessions.
So whatever you do this weekend, remember to KEEEEP DANCING!!
