by Veronica Spettmann

A recent article on lifehacker.com defined nine myths about the human brain that won’t seem to go away. One of these is a myth that even some Savvy Aunties have fallen for: that playing Mozart for your baby nieces and nephews will help turn them into super-baby geniuses.

The study that originally caused some to believe this myth actually never produced substantial conclusive evidence that Mozart made babies smarter. Dr. Gordon Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher originally found that a specific piece of Mozart music temporarily boosted cognitive skills in young children. Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid podcast adds: "although they had some promising preliminary results from a particular Mozart piece which made immediate worldwide headlines, the full study eventually showed no significant result."  Nevertheless, these findings led to entire businesses created to capitalize on the myth, producing products and claims centered around the benefits of Mozart for babies.

While playing Mozart symphonies around young nieces and nephews will certainly not cause them any harm, Aunties should not expect them to turn out to be baby geniuses. Only close guidance and strong teachings by parents, teachers, Aunties and other loving adults can do that kind of work!



Image Courtesy: saaam
Published: December 14, 2011