Any playgroup is good for their development. That being said, there’s plenty of free activities around or you could even set up a group yourself.

it depends on the cost and whether your budget can allow for it. I used to take my daughter to the local library where they would have reading, singing and dancing events every month or so.

Absolutely! The more stimulus the better. Well worth it.

It depends on the child really, a lot of places mp offer first session free to see if your child likes it at all. I tried my kid at 18 months in a music kid class and she hated it! She just wanted to move around and there was too much sitting down. This year (when she 2 1/2) we enrolled her in a “dance play” class and she loves it! Lots of dancing, they dress up use different props and running around

yeah, they are fun, as long as adults don’t pressure the kids x

I wouldn’t think its bad for them. Playgroup is awesome!

it is up to the individual and if your child will be interested

Places that run these classes would have to have a special insurance policy and they are expensive. They also have to maintain equipment and abide by occupational health and safety regulations. You can start interacting with your little one by playing music and encouraging movement to it. I know a little girl who as a baby started moving about to music when she was about 7 months old at a blue light disco run for primary school age students. She was sitting on her Mum’s lap and she thought she was almost asleep so you can imagine the Mum got when bubs starting “jigging” to the beat of the music. At 10 months she was clapping to the beat without too much encouragement. They decided to watch the Wiggles and Playschool after she started walking. It didn’t take her long to start trying to copy some of the movements (and fell over a few times in the process)

Hi, i was looking for something similar for my bub who seems musically talented. She is a whiz on the Fisher Price Kick and Play gym which has a keyboard for her to kick and in general is very stimulated by music but have actually found music classes for babies don’t appear to be run except for on the North Shore. I would pay $20 to attend if it existed. In the meantime if you want fun music/play time with bub at home, look into the above, it’s been fabulous fun!

I don’t believe it’s necessary – in that your child will be fine if you don’t. But I do believe music and dance are GREAT for kids. I don’t do any for financial reasons as most are 20-30 a lesson and I personally can’t justify that for my 11 month old on as we’re a single income family. But I love singing, I have bongos and a drum kit which we play every day. We sing at naps, nappy changes etc. My mum is a music teacher so she plays piano with him when we visit. If I wasn’t so confident with doing music ourselves I would definitely consider a group session. And if I we earnt more I’d pay for group music time. If you want to and can afford it there’s no reason why not But if you can’t afford it I don’t think your child is disadvantaged

yes, depends on the cost though we did one at the local bowling club and it was gold coin donation. We are trialling another one on Monday that is $7 for a half hour which I think is very reasonable. It’s great for socialization, ,and confidence

Hi! I don’t know the prices and the level of these courses in Australia, but we were living in Malaysia when my daughter was 4 years old. Close to my place, they started a program called “Music for little Mozarts”. They were small groups (not more than 8 kids) doing keyboard, percussion, dance, colouring games… Everything related to music. One part of the lesson was with the parents, and another alone. Well, my daughter loved it. It was fun, the teacher was very good and she transmitted the passion for music to my daughter. She’s now 12 and she’s incredibly musical. Well, I think that first experience, at that age, really helped. She went there for one year and a half, learned a little bit of keyboard, sense of rhythm, singing, started to perform in front of a small public… Without any pressure.
In Malaysia it wasn’t very expensive. I don’t know here. But I would tell you that it’s worth. Being musical helps your learning. I think music should be compulsory in every primary school.