Vision
The LinVin Scholarship Foundation
believes that all children should have the opportunity to participate in the
arts. Dressing-up, putting on performances, creating music, dancing, painting…what
do these things all have in common? These creative outlets all help children
develop important social-emotional, physiological and cognitive skills
according to the National Endowment for the Arts.
Here are the top three reasons to
expose your child to the Arts at a young age:
1. Arts
help develop and enhance social skills.
Wondering how your child can work on
developing essential social skills like sharing, caring and empathizing with
others? Introduce them to the wonders of arts, music, and theater!
Parents who took part in a research study and reported singing to their child at
least three times a week were able to report back that their child demonstrated
strong and sophisticated social skills. This same impact was seen for
visual arts when parents used toys, such as blocks, for building several times
a week.
2. Arts
help children regulate their emotions.
Even as an adult, managing our
emotions can be hard and straight up exhausting. Did you know that music,
theater and the arts can help children learn how to understand
and manage their thoughts and feelings? Research has shown that
toddlers engaged in an integrative arts program (music, creative
movement/dance, and visual arts) showed improvement in both their positive and
negative emotion regulation. Another study reported a reduction in
children’s anxiety and aggression after taking part in an eight-week long dance
group.
3. Arts
have beneficial social-emotional outcomes for
children of varying abilities and backgrounds.
The National Endowment for the Arts has found that
while family income and socioeconomic status (SES) can impact children’s
opportunities for arts participation, engagement in the arts has a positive
impact on children from all SES levels. . In addition, when autistic children
ages three to five participated in music play as compared to traditional play
with toys, they began to show improved social skills and communications such as
maintaining eye contact. It’s amazing to see the impact music, theater and art
can have on the social-emotional development of little ones regardless of their
backgrounds or abilities!