What song will you play for your children?
 

I will defiantly play Simple Man (the Shinedown version)

The Rain Song - Led Zeppelin
Shine on You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd

Only broot0L music!

You can leave your hat on

...As I slowly take my clothes off and maintain eye contact with them.

What ever happened to children's music? Don't they get more out of that? Or are we talking about about older kids?

Well yes there is children's music, but I'm sure we all would want to expose our kids to some songs we find truly great...that are not children's music. I can't really think of anything on the spot, personally, but I know I would if I had kids.

This how me & my lil' dew drop get down:

MUSIC HAS THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN, BITCHEZ!


I wouldn't like my child to grow up thinking that electronic music is talentless, and I would definitely want him/her to be exposed to IDM. My child would have a very good childhood if this was played for him/her :D

For sleep or anything like that I would agree with a lot of Floyd, but for fun or awake time I would definitely go with the Beatles! When I get home I will be working on my one yr old daughter to say coo-coo-ca-choo :D

This one would be to make sure they're introduced to music I especially enjoy, and this one has a nice, catchy but mellow rhythm. I'd also probably use this one close to bedtime.


This is one of the first songs I can remember hearing as a child and really, really liking - and I think I turned out okay. My mother (who played the song for me all the time when I was little) also remembers this song from her childhood. I feel like it should be something of a tradition.


One of my favorite, easy to listen to Phish tunes. Also, the chorus repeating, "We want you to be happy," is something catchy and sweet. The song itself is very nice, and I think the solo is particularly pleasing and not too overwhelming for a young'n to listen to.

I have already converted my oldest son to look for music outside of the mainstream and he know recommends me tracks although he leans a lot more to Electronica but all good.

Now it's the 12 year olds turn once he leaves the X Box alone!

That seems like a better idea than simply converting a child to your own specific tastes. There are enough deluded people out there who think only their preference is the "right" preference, which is fine on its own, but trying to impress it on a child (basically against his will) is another thing altogether.
I like that you showed him there's something more than what's readily available in the mainstream, giving him availability of more options for choice, while also not making the impression that everything else but what you like sucks.
:)

I get the feeling that a lot of people at this site wouldn't afford their own children that opportunity.

It does help if his old man listens to any old crap though! But seriously you are right. Forcing an ideal upon your kids whether it's music, films, beliefs etc is detrimental in the long run and it's better to tell them about ALL the options out there. All I wanted him to be was open minded and that has been achieved :)

This one while they fall asleep. I mean the Beatles are accessible, catchy, and awesome. Seems like good music for a youngun.

I read somewhere that babies are comforted by the music their mothers listened to when they were in the womb, so I guess I'll have to ween the little birth control failures off of my favorite albums before they get old enough to be traumatized by them.

This would make a pretty good lullaby though.

My kid is exposed (not converted) to a very broad range of sounds, from children music to pretty much everything we listen to in our home. I'm sure he'll discover the "wonderful" world of mainstream on his own. In a way he's doing that in school with his friends, and he doesn't really like it. For now he likes this:



In fact, he has decided that Trans Am is his favorite band (based on this song mostly), whatever that means in his age :). Oh, I forgot to mention, he's 8. But, the point is he picks these sounds rather naturally, passing through, and a lot of it catches his attention.

I think that my daughter is definitely more into the creative side of music now, but she always has been. We "play rock & roll", where she gets on the drums and I sing a bunch of nonsense that makes her wanna' pee her pants. It's always a good time, but since she was able to sit up, we were beating on pots and pans together, having our own little dance parties, and taking in the full range of musical experience.

I think that a lot of music that's made exclusively for children can be really patronizing to them, and just like in all other areas of life, it's best to treat kids as the intelligent appreciative people that they are and not inundate them with a lot of overly simplified music about the basics of being kind to one another.More often than not, it's adults that need to be reminded of that. Children have that intrinsic awareness. I think kids just need rock & roll and lots of it.

I was never exposed to 'childrens' music when I was growing up and don't think that an alternate version of music should be forced upon kids if it's a style that they will rarely encounter later on in life.

Of course nursery rhymes and such are integral and a useful tool but later on in their lives, I see no harm in exposing them to as much as possible whilst still being a good parent and protecting them regarding bad language, violence etc

I love horror films but I still don't watch anything too OTT in front of my 12 Y.O and this is not censorship. It's common sense as I was a child once and know what generally works or doesn't.

However being a father is a hard job because there is no manual out there to tell you if it you are doing it right. You just have to hope that you are doing the best you can.

This thread has derailed! Maybe it should go into the lounge lol

No, I think what you are saying saying is very relevant to the topic. There's more than a fine line between employing good discretion and unjustifiably trying to shelter your children from anything that might be considered "mature" or "adult", both of those words having garnered the connotations of meaning too explicit for children, when really they can just as easily denote intellectual and emotional, as well. What attitude you take on the subject obviously influences what music you play for your children, which has a direct influence in their life.