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Christian Living

Family Matters

What Our Moms Knew and Scientists Discovered

As I was dusting my piano the other day, I thought about how much I hated to practice as a child. Yes, all three kids in my family were forced to take piano lessons. None of us liked the idea or wanted to practice.

I hated the 30 minutes of boring scales and sections of classical music that took forever to learn. I could be playing, out with friends and doing something useful with my life!

One day, I was so over the practice regiment that I carved my initials in the wood of the piano–an action I deeply regretted as I inherited that piano! Now, I can look at that act of defiance on a daily basis. And of course, I forced my two kids to take piano lessons.

My mom used to say, “Trust me, you will thank me someday. No one ever regrets taking piano, but people do regret not knowing how to play. In fact, I often hear people say they wish they had stayed with those lessons. Music stays with you for a lifetime.” She was right.

To my surprise, there was a benefit to all those hours of musical lessons that my mom didn’t know.

Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center found that adults ages 60-83 who took music lessons as children performed better on memory and brain function tests than those who never had lessons.

Furthermore, the earlier the musical lessons began and the longer a child took lessons correlated with more brain benefit. The theory is that those early brain connections made through music, serve us well in later years.

So thanks mom for making me practice day in and day out. Sorry for the carving that ruined our beautiful wooden piano. Not only do I enjoy playing the piano now, but my ant-aging brain thanks you as well.

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