Teens and music during school time.

[mamakelly]

Do you all ow your teenagers to listen to iPods/phones with Pandora etc...during your regular school day? I feel like my kids are constantly on their devices, but they swear that they are just changing songs. Uh huh sure.. Anyways, I'm curious how families this with their teens during the school day. My teens are 11th/16 and 8th/14

Edited December 17, 2015 by mamakelly

[MerryAtHope]

I don't really care as long as they are getting their work done in a reasonable time and it doesn't impair their performance. Both of mine do like to listen to music as they work and it seems to help them. I can't--I get distracted and sing along even if it's classical, LOL! 

 

If school starts dragging on or if other problems crop up, I ask them to identify the issue and come up with a plan for dealing with it and then let me know. Usually they'll either say they are spending time on a kindle/ds or I'll ask & they'll admit it. Then I ask them to come up with a solution. A common one here is to put the device on my bookshelf during school hours. At their ages, I like them to try to come up with their own solution so that they get used to self-discipline in this area. It's a temptation all of life and good for them to try to get a handle on it now.

[regentrude]

Yes. My DS does all his school work with music.

I was the same. Music on while doing homework, always. In grad school I got a walkman and could work with headphones on.

It helps with concentration and makes it more enjoyable.

Edited December 17, 2015 by regentrude

[Momling]

Yes! My daughter does exactly this.  The compromise has become that she can listen to music after she finishes math which is the hardest for her to focus on.   I can't focus with music on... it makes me want to listen to the music and I find it distracting, so I don't understand the arguments that it helps her. 

[Garga]

For some people (like me) music is a horrible distraction. I cannot have it on when I'm thinking. I can have it on when I'm doing something boring, but not when I have to concentrate. I need silence when I'm concentrating. Silence. Love me some silence.

 

For other people (like DH) music helps him focus. He has ADHD. He always has something on and is rather successful at his job and at pretty much everything he does, so the music has certainly not been a hindrance to him. He had music on the entire time he studied for his master's degree.

 

I recently read a report that music is often very good for helping people focus. Now, the report did say that the best kind of music to study by is music that you are very familiar with. A brand new song ends up being distracting, but the same old favorites were helpful.

 

It said music was particularly helpful for many ADD/ADHD people because it let their brains have 2 things to focus on at the same time, which is what their brains are wired to do. Instead of them focusing on true distractions (look at the bunny out the window, oh look, someone dropped a pencil...) part of their brain could focus on the music while the rest of their brain focused on the thing they were studying and therefore all of their brain was happy.

 

This is all in my own wording. It was much more impressively described in the article.

[regentrude]

Yes! My daughter does exactly this.  The compromise has become that she can listen to music after she finishes math which is the hardest for her to focus on.   I can't focus with music on... it makes me want to listen to the music and I find it distracting, so I don't understand the arguments that it helps her. 

 

Trust me.. there are people like this. It also depends on the kind of music; not every type of music works equally well.

My thesis work involved programming and analytical calculations with lots of math - all went much better with music.

 

[JadeOrchidSong]

Thanks for the thread. I have been wondering the same thing. Ds13 always listens to music while doing his lessons. So we are not alone.

[Scarlett]

I have a teen who swears he does better with music. Could be....he makes almost straight As.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

Both my boys focus better wth music playing. So yes, they listen while working.

[Donna]

Dd listens to music during school but not while doing math. She is usually listening to pieces she is working on learning, so classical generally, killing two birds with one stone so to speak, and after finished schoolwork, she listens to other genres of music while making crafts or reading books.

[....]

Not here - not while they're doing schoolwork.  Sometimes, we will play classical music very softly for some background noise.  I make them put their iPods and stuff away when we work.  I'm pretty strict about the no-devices during schoolwork.  My 14 year-old can go on her iPod and be just completely zoned out for hours...  So, no way.

[The Girls' Mom]

Three of the five people in this house prefer music while working.  I'm one of them.  When I was a teen, I could listen to anything, and it really did help keep me focused.  Now as an adult, I stick to classical or instrumental because words distract me.  But listening to classical definitely helps and keeps me from listening to traffic/birds/dh working, etc.  

[amsunshine]

We have the ipods put away during schoolwork hours.  Otherwise, things would never get done.  I call them the "slow-down" machines.

[My3girls]

All three of mine like to listen to music while doing their independent work.  As long as the work is getting done satisfactorily, I let them listen.

[freesia]

Yes, they do.

 

And yes, we have the constant looking on devices, changing song lists, checking what song it is, etc. Ds does not get how much focus and time it takes from his day. He does study better with music, but not with music he needs to interact with. I long for a CD changer that he could just stick CDs in--but he has no CDs!

 

No, I have no solution. It is presently a BIG issue in our house.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I let my kids listen to music.  It does help them focus at times.

 

However, they don't have iPods that connect to the internet, so I know they aren't websurfing on those.

They do like to listen to songs on YouTube.  Lindsey Stirling, Piano Guys, Pentatonix, Post-Modern Jukebox etc.  I do have to watch that they don't spend so long searching for the best playlist that they don't get through their work.  (BTW, the whole family has come to like the artists I just mentioned.)

 

I have sometimes taken DS, iPods, even laptops away when work was not getting done.  There isn't a right to the devices.

 

A speaker dock might help, since they can set up a playlist and let it run.  

 

I do have a rule that they cannot listen to something with words while they are doing foreign language or when they are trying to read something text-heavy.  So no words during history or literature.  But no problem during physics calculations or math.

 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Yes, DD listens to music while working it seems to help her stay focused.  When she's not listening to music she's talking to her brother and distracting him from his work.  DS doesn't listen to mainstream music and I won't allow youtube videos while doing school so he does his work just fine in silence.  I used to be able to read a book, carry on a conversation, and watch TV at the same time when I was in my 20's.  Now I can't even listen to music while reading without feeling frazzled.

[OnMyOwn]

I'm so glad someone brought this up. My dd listens to music all day and I keep wondering if that is okay. I've been letting it go since she is doing well, but I could never work while listening to music. Good to see that others think it's okay, but I do wonder if she'd be more efficient without the music.

[Guest todioson]

I was the same. Music on while doing homework

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Yes to music. No to comedy. That was one of those surprises in parenting.

 

He uses Spotify and has to stick to his list so he's not constantly changing and looking for songs.

 

Yes, I do have to limit them to playlists so they aren't fidgeting with songs every 3-5 minutes.

[happypamama]

DD listens to music while doing schoolwork. She, like DH, focuses much better when she has music. (Not I. I like silence for studying.)

 

She usually uses headphones and the Amazon music player, but sometimes her cd player instead, or the MP3 player on her basic tracfone (no internet access). We do have issues with her getting distracted by Internet surfing, music or not, so we have software that limits her usage of Internet web browsers while still allowing unlimited Amazon player and word processor access (especially helpful for when she wants to work upstairs on our office computer, away from the noise of little boys). She doesn't have a portable device of her own, but if she did, I'd either have control software on it, or it would stay in my sight before schoolwork was done.

[Tsuga]

Yes. As do the littles. But the littles must decide on a playlist beforehand or they will get distracted.

[lllll]

nm

Edited December 28, 2015 by w11

[Rebel Yell]

Yes. Music, even movies/TV shows. One of mine seems to do her best math work (a subject she struggles with) while watching the Dick Van Dyke show.  :coolgleamA:  Yes, I HAVE compared her work with and without the "distraction."

 

I also allow them to text/iMessage/SnapChat etc. This is with both homeschooled and public school friends, and also grads/sister/other people out of school. If they were in school they'd have small conversations with friends throughout the day. It is actually less distracting to send a quick message to a friend than to try to remember to wait until school is done. Once the thought is sent, it;s no longer rattling around in the mind.

 

I have found that doing school while texting/chatting takes the same time, and they are happier and more motivated. They feel more connected with friends and family. ANd the work truly doesn;t suffer.  And of course, no chatting/texting during tests.

 

It works for us.

[VaKim]

My oldest dd is like this. She even listens to her ipod while practicing keyboard! Says it helps her focus and concentrate better. 

[VaKim]

Double post for some reason.

Edited December 18, 2015 by VaKim

[Junie]

Ds15 often listens to the Star Wars soundtrack or other classical music that he likes.  It is actually less distracting than the commotion that his sisters make.

 

 

[SunshineMom]

Yes, we usually have classical music going all day.  We have found music with lyrics very distracting because their "story lines" become discussion items.

[mamakelly]

Thanks for the input. We are on break now, so I'm going to really need to think about how I'm going to handle this. I dont mind if they listen to music, I don't want them constantly changing songs etc...I like the idea of playing classical music through the the house, maybe that would work sometimes...

[AggieMama]

I always listened to music/radio/computer when I was studying. The further along I got in school the more I listened to music. I went to college and grad school with instant messaging, but I had to learn when to turn it off.

[LindaOz]

I let mine listen to wordless music. I know that some would tune into the words otherwise.

[MEmama]

Mine mostly doesn't enjoy listening to music at all (!!), but when he's stressed having Irish music on in the background instantly relaxes him and allows him to focus.

[J-rap]

We used to have the rule of classical music only, and would have it playing in the background all day long.  (NPR's classical music station.)  We were pretty strict about it for awhile and our kids grew up enjoying it.  But at some point we kind of drifted off of that rule and let that play anything at all.  It was still music I liked so was never a problem.  :)  Music in some form did seem to give a lift to their day!

[TheApprentice]

Yes, I allow it. Some people work better with a bit of background noise. If their grades or output suffers, then this privilege would go.

[RootAnn]

DD#1 listens to the radio or a cd/music on her computer (not connected to the internet) most of the day. If DH or I am in her room working with her, the music is off. (I'm one that can't think/concentrate with music on, especially hers!) If she's supposed to be listening to (or watching) a lecture, no music. 

 

I didn't let her listen to it as much before I read How We Learn. I thought she had to have quiet to learn best because that's how I learn. (Also, when I'm in the car & lost, the radio goes off & the kids have to be completely quiet - unless they see where I'm supposed to turn! I can't think *hard* with noise.) She & I are not alike in that way.