Music at home with the under fives: what is happening?

摘要

The study reported in this paper explores parents' musical practices with children under the age of five in the home environment. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's involvement in music programmes, types of music children were exposed to in the home and frequency of musical activities conducted in the home. Results from the survey were used as discussion points in focus groups, revealing: (1) parents highlighted a lack of time to engage in music-making on a regular basis with young children; (2) parental belief that preschool and other educational settings provided a complete musical experience for children; (3) lack of parental knowledge about music; (4) reliance on commercially available products such as CDs and DVDs for music in the home; and (5) parental focus on the extra-musical effects of music. Implications of these results are discussed.