Dear Mr. Dad: My 2 ½-year old is learning lots lot of new words, but has trouble singing even the simplest song. And although he sometimes rocks in time to music, he’s almost never on the beat. Is there a connection between language, music and rhythm, and is a problem with any of them a developmental red flag?
A: In a word, yes. During the second half of your child’s third year, his language skills make a sudden, often dramatic spurt forward. You’ll see this development in two distinct yet connected ways. First, you’ll notice that his imitation skills have become quite sharp: he can now repeat nearly any word or two-word phrase. He can also tell when he’s imitating something correctly and when he’s not.
Second, now that he’s got a good grasp of the sounds that make up his native language, he’ll begin using them as toys, amusing himself, and you, by making up his own “words.” Musically, a similar development is taking place. “Once they’ve acquired a simple vocabulary of tonal patterns and rhythms, [young children] can start creating their own songs,” says music educator Edwin Gordon.
