All parents want their best for their children, but are your child's extra curricular activities having a lasting impact you're hoping for? Maybe it's time to consider music for your child. Music education during childhood has been shown to have a multitude of benefits, it sharpens student's attentiveness, abstract reasoning and creativity. Children who are musically trained have stronger every day listening and memory skills. In addition, music engages both sides of the brain and challenges children to simultaneously concentrate on multiple tasks. Music and math are highly intertwined by understanding beats, rythm, and scales, even the youngest music makers are learning how to divide, create fractions and recognize patterns. Music also helps children develop coordination and motor skills, as well as self-discipline and self-esteem. Students who participate in music programs consistently score higher in mathematics and english than their peers. Studies have also shown that individuals who took music lessons as children often show stronger neural processing of sound even after 50 years later. Making the decision to enroll your child in a music class is a no-brainer. Parents build your child's cognitive and emotional development and give them the gift of music. To learn more about the benefits of making music at every stage of life visit nammfoundation.org.