In the study, caregivers carry a mobile phone with them for a week, and are phoned at random intervals during the day to find out whether the child is hearing any music (either at the time or within the last 2 hours) and if so, what it is and their response to it. Over the hundreds of episodes analysed so far, music is being heard 77% of the time; some children are listening to music every time we call, while even those with the least exposure are still hearing music 42% of the time.

This shows us that there is a great deal of music in children’s lives. But what kind of music are today’s children listening to? “Children’s” music is the most frequently heard, chosen, and responded to positively by the children. This includes television theme tunes as well as a lot of nursery rhymes! Most of the time the children are hearing music in recorded format, from the television, children’s websites (CBeebies is a popular choice), CDs and tapes, and the radio. This is a marked change from 30 years ago, when young children would rarely have been allowed to put on a gramophone record. Children today have access to high quality recordings on relatively durable child-proof formats like CDs, and many of the children in the study put on their own music for themselves.

Pop music is also frequently heard by children today, although this tends to be not the children’s own choice. Mothers often put music on, especially the radio, to accompany everyday routines like mealtimes and driving. Older siblings are also influential, in some families, in determining the music choices. For example, Jamie Craven from Child of Our Time is having his musical tastes almost entirely shaped by his older brother Robert, who has a liking for rock music. Some children respond well to pop music and sing along and dance to it, especially some of the ‘cheesier’ pop with memorable lyrics and fast beats (All the Things She Said by Tatu was a big hit amongst several COOT families last year).

Other musical styles such as classical music or folk music are very rare in these children’s lives, and would not typically be chosen by them. One example of the relatively rare occasions when children might listen to classical music is at school nurseries. Many play calming classical music after mealtimes to help children wind down to rest. This hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years - many of the children’s parents would have had similar musical experiences – but it is only a small part of children’s musical lives today.