A German researcher has provided yet more evidence of how encouraging young children to sing will enhance their chances of success in school.

Thomas Blank of the University of Muenster studied 500 pre-school children and came to the conclusion that young kids should be exposed to music as early as possible. He found that the children who sang a lot were better prepared when they entered the school system. He says “They can express themselves better, empathize more easily with others, and they get sick with colds or the flu less often.”

Blank says this isn’t a big surprise. He says the connection between the left and right brain, or between logic and feeling, is strengthened when children sing. And it’s important for them to start before the age of six.

Blank says it doesn’t matter if they sing particularly well. In fact, there should be no pressure. He says it’s important for them to have fun, because that’s when singing achieves spillover benefits.