Music is important for all ages and it’s never too early to introduce musical instruments and toys to children. I thought I’d spend a few minutes highlighting some of the benefits of music for children and then giving examples of some musical instruments for young children and also some toys that play music that young children can enjoy.

Getting young children to play simple instruments is beneficial.

• It can calm and sooth babies and children
• It can be a tool to engage with children and distract them
• It enhances brain development and language skills.
• It improves motor skills (fine and gross, depending on the instrument)
• It encourages self-expression
• It is fun!

The great thing about musical instruments for young children is that they are generally inexpensive in comparison to pianos, violins etc. So, here’s some that I stock…

1. Wooden Animal Castanets

Your child may not master clicking these until they are around 2 years old but will enjoy the noise and watching the action that produces it, if you do it for them. These wooden castanets make a beautiful dull clacking sound. Older toddlers will love clicking them and dancing to the rhythm they are making.

2. Wooden Maracas

These are very similar to old fashioned baby rattles. They have a slim handle and a bulb at the top which contains grains or something that makes a lovely shaking noise.

3. A Tambourine

This is another beautiful wooden instrument that will encourage rhythm and dancing!

4. A Xylophone

I stock several types of these. The wooden xylophone above comes with a song book that teaches your child how to play some simple nursery rhymes and songs. I also stock a pull along xylophone and a xylophone that is part of an Activity Cube.

5. A Musical Table

This musical table from Janod has a drum, xylophone and cymbal. It is wooden and stands on 3 short legs so it’s hard to topple and easy to play.

If listening to music is more of your child’s style, they might enjoy one of the following musical toys:

6. A Clockwork Radio

This retro looking tin radio just needs to be wound up and it will play ‘How much is that doggy in the window’. To add to the effect, the little window in the toy shows dogs moving. Super cute!

6. Space Rocket Musical Toy

I have several gorgeous musical boxes. This wooden rocket plays the tune Twinkle Twinkle. It’s clockwork, so you just twist the top and it rotates slowly back while playing the tune. Some of my other musical boxes include a wooden Ocean one where the wooden shapes spin around as the music plays, a ballerina jewellery box, a princess jewellery box and a space themed treasure box.

Xx Suzie

PS. If your young child really likes music, it might be worth bringing them to a Parent and Toddler Group that has a music slot in it. If you are responsible for running one of these, you might find this ‘Best Toys for Parent and Toddler Groups‘ blog interesting.