There is a particularly special magic to be found in the ways creative minds choose to tackle parenthood. A mother might paint the walls of her child’s playroom with colorful, cartoony images that teach them about math and spelling while they mess about with their dinosaurs, or a father might write a whole novel chronicling their child’s adventures in a mind-blowing fantasy world. Indeed, there’s no finer combo than art and child-rearing.
It’s no surprise, then, that when a father chooses to put on nightly bedtime concerts exclusively for his acoustically-inclined baby, a sensational, singularly warm tingle echoes through the bodies of those who witness it.
Distributed by TikTok‘s @pubity, the 30-second video above is the stuff of dreams; a dad playing the gentlest of melodies on his guitar while his infant son lays flat across the body of the instrument, right below his dad’s chin as he feels the music against his skin. His eyes droop a little as he prepares to enter his latest slumber, but not before offering up the purest little smile that his still-developing facial muscles can muster, which earns a similar grin from his dad in turn. Suffice to say that this little one has his peers beat in the “first memory” department.
In all likelihood, these lullabies are doing far, far more than just melting our hearts and helping this baby develop good sleeping habits; music has long been identified as a powerful and effective tool for parents to emotionally connect with their babies and develop their brains. According to Mercy.net, studies show that babies who are regularly exposed to music can speed up their ability to master such skills as speech, language, and pattern recognition. UNICEF also suggests that babies who listen to music have a better chance of developing such personality traits as helpfulness or cooperation.
That, of course, is often a result of specific music types, such as a gentle waltz or these more personal acoustic melodies that this father is playing for his son. A baby who listened to a lot of dubstep in the womb, by contrast, probably won’t be as talented in the language department as other babies, but will make up for it with his unrivaled gamer abilities, his proficiency in kick-flips, and affinity for Doritos.
But skate park dominance is nothing compared to the lasting effects of an artistic dad, and in that respect, this baby has won the lottery pretty resolutely.