Mothers’ Perspectives on the Value of Early Childhood Music Classes for Their Toddlers

Parents’ perceptions and beliefs regarding the benefits of early childhood music classes for toddlers are a significant determining factor in their decision to introduce music into their children’s lives. The current study aims to explore the beliefs and experiences of 12 mothers attending parent-toddler music classes in an early childhood music center in Cyprus. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to probe the mothers’ motivation to enroll their children. A wide range of perceived benefits were expressed during interviews. Interestingly, while participants identified intrinsically musical benefits of engaging in early years music classes, the findings reveal that the majority of reasons given could be categorized as being non-musical, including, social/emotional, cognitive/educational and physical/motor-skills benefits. The insight gained into parents’ perceptions and expectations has given us the impulse to consider how we can work with the mothers to better support musical learning, both during the classes and at the home.