I don't know what really to describe it as. So get ready because I have a whole bunch of questions. I think music is like food - you tend to eat what the people around you eat. Meet new people and you start eating new foods. For example, many people don't eat yogurt, because yogurt isn't heavily advertised, like hamburgers.
Classical music is like yogurt to many people.
They may try it once or twice, but, that's usually not enough. There has to be some form of continual contact and the music, like a nutritious food needs to be integrated into their lifestyle. Because music is the language of emotion. The history of music is the recorded history of human emotion, different ways people expressed their feelings over the centuries in response to their surroundings. Music is important therefore to help children grow emotionally.