Musical instruments: must our children either be tied to a piano bench or forgo their dreams of the Ivy League? Must we battle with our children daily to make them practice, and then have to listen to fifteen minutes of what sounds like a dying moose?

Experts say childhood exposure to musical instruments relieves stress (theirs), tones the brain for auditory fitness, even lowers kids’ risk of dementia seventy years hence.

While that’s certainly playing the long game, all of our kids play instruments, and we’re here to tell you why yours should at least give it a shot. At least the recorder. Sorry about that.

Here’s links to research and further reading we discuss in this episode:

a picture of a bass clarinet, which Margaret promised as a visual appendix to her story of Clarice, the clarinetrix

sports coach Bruce Brown’s terrific advice on the only thing you need to say after watching your kids perform: “I Love To Watch You Play”

the Tiger Mom article that started the backlash against making kids spend three hours a day practicing (not that we were ever going to do that anyhow)

Ten Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn to Play Musical Instruments

Angela Kwan for Parents: 6 Benefits of Music Lessons

Did you play an instrument as a kid? Are you glad you did? Tell us in the comments!

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