Mom films herself playing piano with baby—later stunned at what she sees

A mother practicing piano with her five-month-old in tow has wowed viewers and sparked a discussion on what classical music can do for babies’ brain development.

Kayla Morris, 27, lives in Provo, Utah, and has played piano since she was four years old, having been taught the instrument by her own piano teacher mother.

Being classically trained, and with 23 years of experience behind her, Morris still has a passion for piano, which she is now passing down to her own children.

“I love playing for my kids and have always balanced them on my lap or in a carrier as babies so they could see my hands move over the keys,” she explained to Newsweek.

“My daughter has always seemed to enjoy it, but it wasn’t until I recorded a video and watched it back a few hours later that I realized how shocked by it she seemed!”

A video shared to Morris’ TikTok account, @kaylalalamorris, on December 13, showed her expertly performing a rendition of The Piano Guys’ “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” with her baby daughter strapped to her chest so she can watch her play.

And the five-month-old is utterly enthralled, as she stares, alert and wide-eyed, at her mother’s fingers dancing across the keys, following her hands as she moves throughout the entire performance.

“I thought her reaction was so cute and funny,” Morris told Newsweek–and TikTok users had the same reaction, as they flocked to the video which has more than 3.4 million views.

“This is AMAZING brain enrichment for your child,” one commenter praised.

Another shared: “My husband is a pianist and held our children in his lap from infancy. Now one is a pianist and composer and the other a flautist. Music is a gift to the world.”

Another joked: “This is so dangerous. I learned the hard way that introducing your kids to music to early turns them into musicians too and that gets pricey!”

Jessica Young, a development psychologist and early childhood expert with the Education Development Center (EDC), told Newsweek that “patterns underly the structure of music,” and children naturally “look for and find patterns in the world around them.”

“This is also a mathematical habit of mind,” she said. “Music and mathematics can be considered languages, both of which can be mutually reinforcing through embodied (whole-body) social learning experiences. Since music in early childhood is typically a shared experience, it is hard to parse out the specific benefit of music without considering the social interaction—but learning in early childhood is socially constructed, so there is no doubt that this baby is learning a lot by watching her mother play the piano.”

She added that while further study needs to be done on the subject, there is evidence “that music interventions that include parents and children can help lower parent stress and improve mental health.”

“Parents report increased feelings of joy, pride, calmness and relaxation—all of which may support parent co-regulation of emotions and promote positive maternal/parental sensitivity—which is known to promote positive child development outcomes.”

Morris told Newsweek she was “pleasantly surprised that 95 percent” of the comments on her viral video have been positive.

“People have been talking about how good playing is for my daughter, how happy the video made them, what a good mom I am for doing this for her, and how much we look alike. Those comments have brightened my day!” she said.

“I love being able to enrich my daughter’s life by doing something I truly enjoy and love myself.”

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