Academics don�t agree on when is the best time to start teaching a child a second language. Some say it is best to wait until they have established the foundations of their mother tongue, at around age 3. Others say it is better to start right when the child is born. Picking the right moment is a personal decision that is up to parents or teachers.

There is no doubt that up until age 9 or 10, children have an extraordinary capacity for learning. It is a period in which the foundation is set for future learning, and in which they will feel more and more secure.

Musical initiation
When children are very small (under 3) it is best to play with them stimulating the perception of natural rhythms and created sounds. The child hears sounds nearby -a passing car, the rain, a doorbell- and starts to associate them with the object that produces those sounds.

Later, when the child starts to speak, you can teach them songs with short sentences that are very repetitive. Soft melodies and slow rhythms are the ones they tend to like the most. But each child has his or her own tastes, so try different rhythms.

Little by little, the child will memorize small parts of the song -at the beginning, almost always the refrain- and later sing the whole song with you. He or she  will accompany the songs with gestures and movements that he or she can repeat with you and associates with the songs you sing together.

A second language
This is a good time to start introducingwords from another language if you have not already done so. Songs in another language should follow the same norms as in the mother tongue: they mut be short, repetitive and, where possible, feature both languages. This way the child will learn to identify the words in both languages.

For starters, try songs about animals, games or people so that the child can relate the concepts in both languages (for example, vaca/cow). Little by little, the child will incorporate the new language naturally.

Music at school
When children start to learn to read, their education will be strengthened and stimulated if it includes music. This will help boost their powers of concentration, listening, abstraction and expression. Music also boosts small children�s self esteem and improve their capacity for creativity and sense of responsibility.

But even though you may be bent on improving your children�s ability to learn, educators say you should stimulate their knowledge of music but not force them. Punishing them for mistakes or trying to make them learn too fast can be highly counterproductive. The child might reject music or other disciplines.