How to Make Sure Your Child Has Great Taste in Music
I used to hate children. Now that I have two of them, I can admit it. When I was twenty, I swore I would never show up – instead, I would travel the world, wild and free, without having to change a diaper, listen to Barney songs, or pick up half-chewed Oreos off the floor.
Alas, I had to eat my words. (I also ate these oreos off the floor – it’s useless to waste them.) I have a two-year-old child and a six-year-old child; I love them without a trace and I’m ready to do anything for them. I changed diapers from all sides – getting up, sitting down, in the car, on the boat … you know. I cleared up vomit from shells during a trip to Disneyland. I fought off the other kids for the last bag of gummy bears.
But as a music journalist who prided herself on watching four concerts a week, every week for ten years, I still give up on one thing – listening to Barney’s mind-boggling songs with my kids. Through careful coercion and thoughtful parenting, we can say that we have successfully escaped the curse of intolerable children’s music in the minivan. Here’s how to do it yourself. *
Use their pliable youth
The trick in shaping your child’s musical taste is to learn it early. From the moment your baby is born until he turns five, everything you do will be beautiful and best . Take time to teach them that Bob Marley is stronger than gummy bears and that Leonard Cohen writes good bedtime stories .
Let your kids own the songs
When my son was about three years old, I made a playlist of songs that we, his parents, loved and to which he responded positively. Songs that were easy to imitate, damn catchy and lacking explicit lyrics were automatically added. There was no N Sync on this list, but there was a lot of Michael Jackson. We sang songs together, watched YouTube videos and took turns playing the DJ in the car. He built his own memories of songs (he called the Talking Heads ‘Crosseyed and Pangu’ with his skateboarding song). Whenever he heard a song that he liked, he asked us to include it on his list. Today, his playlist can also serve as the soundtrack for any millennium celebration featuring wine – it includes MJ, The White Stripes, The Weeknd and Black Sabbath.
Advertise the artists you love
My son loves Jack White for the same reasons that I do: he writes great songs and looks great. After seeing the White Stripes’ video for “The Hardest Button to Button,” he only wanted to dress in red and white. Who was I to say no?
Listen to fun children’s music too
The Rockabye Baby series creates lullabies from popular hits, recreating them in soothing marimba melodies. TV series Yo Gabba Gabba! also has a great soundtrack. They Might Be Giants have phenomenal educational albums (they’ll tell you what a shooting star really is – in the form of songs!) For kids. And some of the children’s songs that belong on Barney’s spectrum are travel. They are especially great for composing new lyrics with your children. Raffi’sBananafon is funny. Bryant Auden’sDuck Song is an earworm, but good.
Feel free to watch live music with your kids
Daytime concerts are bread and butter for all ages, especially if the shows are in a park or open field, so you can take a walk when the kids start to fuss. Night shows? Do this too. Will you look like a preschooler at the FYF Fest? Inevitably yes. But by the end of the evening, I always have more smiles than looks. (But don’t forget the headphones.)
Introduce Jack Black
School of Rock gave my kids an early appreciation for Black Sabbath and AC / DC – and a desire to learn how to play the guitar. My son might play the opening riff to Ironman because of this movie, and not just because Black is so clearly into rock music (although that’s what appeals to me the most). For my kids, there is nothing cooler than seeing other kids play musical instruments in a group. (“Cello, it’s bass!”)
* One caveat: these tips do have an expiration date. Once your child starts kindergarten, he will listen to Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber exclusively, like all of his other indulgent high school friends. However, when Daft Punk is on the radio, you can always say, “Remember when you were three and you loved this song?”