Parents can influence kids' musical tastes

A new survey by the music department of England’s University of York says that there is a window for influencing your child's musical taste, and that window closes around age 10.

According to a survey conducted among 2,000 parents, 82 per cent of them say their kids react most favourably to hearing new music before they are 10. After the age of 10, kids are more likely to dislike styles of music they don’t know very well or hear often. Having a wider taste in music include the ability to use music to manage their emotions, socialize and bond with others more easily, apart from having a better understanding of other cultures.

Instead of enforcing their own musical tastes on children, parents should generate interest in different genres of music by putting music on in the background while the child is playing, and create positive memories by going to concerts and live music events together.