I wanted to axe a question. You, gentle reader, have been so helpful in determining what to name our baby and what color to paint her room. I need some more help.And just in case you are wondering: there will be a lovely post coming soon (perhaps tonight!) with more pictures of our beautiful baby for our relatives to ohh and ahh over and for the rest of you to skip past.
QUERY #1:
I am trying to listen to more music with the kids. Instead of me turning on NPR when we are in the car and ignoring them, I have had a lot of fun turning on music that we all like and interacting and singing. The play list is pretty limited, because I don't want to listen to Barney and Friends, but Jonah and Noel aren't really jiving on Rufus Wainwright and Bjork. But we have found some common ground. Here is the playlist, so far (fittingly titled "The Boys" on my iPod.)
1. Don't Stop Believing - not the Journey version. The one from Glee. And Jonah sings all the words (in the voice of the character who is singing, too! "Livin' in old Detroit!"
2. Stayin' Alive - the funniest song every written.
3. Old Joe's Place from A Mighty Wind. The second funniest song ever.
4. Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade.
5. So What by Pink. Don't judge me. I turn it down when she swears. This is Noel's personal fave.
6. Tiki Room. A classic.
7. Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones.
And that is it. In constant rotation. It isn't bad, because that many songs is enough to get you to Target and back. But I want to mix it up a bit. So...any thoughts? What songs are kid friendly, but not annoying (I know some of you would argue that the tiki room is annoying, but I love that place. I can taste the Dole Whip now....)
QUERY #2:
Lately we have discovered the awesome power of parental guilt. If you are trying to get Noel to do something and you say, "Noel, it would make me SO HAPPY if you...." he'll stop all fits and do it. And then when he is done, he looks to you eagerly for approval. "Look, Dad! I put my pajamas on by myself! Did it, indeed, make you SO HAPPY?! Validate me!" his subtext seems to say. It is amazing, because if you know Noel, you know he is stubborn - but that power of withholding love to get what we want is wonderful.
But is it wrong?
It isn't really a lie. It does make me so happy if Noel puts on his on pjs or shares a toy or eats his dinner. But in his little three year old brain, does he think that I only love him when he does what I want him to? And what is the fun of wielding parental guilt if it makes me feel guilty? Help me out here - is it OK to guilt my child into doing what I want him to do? (I have included the evil looking picture of Noel to sway you to my side..wait, is that champagne he is drinking?)
10 comments:
We like a CD called "For the Kids" it has some different musicians singing covers of popular kids songs. There is also a great song on the "Bolt" soundtrack called "Barking at the moon" that Lillian just loves.
my kids love the beatles and 'even the nights are better' by air supply. i'm confident enough with myself to say that i, too, love that song. put it on right now-- i dare you-- and try not to sing along.
as for the guilt question: it is absolutely okay. i think it's actually a rule.
My sister had the same problem finding music for her kids, so I scoured the internets and made them a mix with songs from our childhood: stuff from Hans Christian Andersen (Danny Kaye), some old school Disney (Bare Necessities from Jungle Book, When I See an Elephant Fly from Dumbo, stuff from Mary Poppins, Snow White, Bednobs & Broomsticks), and some old school Sesame Street songs. It's kind of a random mix, but they really love it. I'd be happy to send you a copy if you'd like - Facebook me your address and I'll pop it in the mail.
Our kids are huge fans of The Killers, they have that "Are We Human?" song & they also love "Spaceman" by the same artist. Wilco also has a great song from the Spongebob sound track titled "Just a Kid". I have also found that they love stories on cd.
#2 Guilt & bribery are a part of every kids life, use it wisely... it won't work forever, kids these days are pretty darn clever.
Josh. May i suggest a few titles:
Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam Ant
Jungle Drum - Emiliana Torrini
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song - The Flaming Lips
A Little Bit More - Jamie Liddel
Just - Mark Ronson
Lollipop - Mika
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Anything by the Puppini Sisters
Cobrastyle - Robyn
Ruby Blue - Roisin Murphy
Laura - The Scissor Sisters
That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
Rag and Bone - The White Stripes
I was just going to type out a long list but I see that that mysterious Topher Clark has beat me to it. We were listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeah song and it lead to a thought provoking discussion on what you WOULD DO with all that power. Phoebe insists that, yes, she would give money to the poor and not keep it to herself. She's mortified that they sing "no no no no no no no" at that part. So, it's a song with a message.
Also, Beatles. And I think my next step in their music education is Motown. Just something I'm throwing out there.
As for the parental guilt issue, that's a tough one, as you have pointed out. I never thought I'd use bribery with my kids, and yet, here we are.
Forgot one thing--there is a great blog about kids music, but this is coming from the point of view that you want kids music that doesn't annoy adults, vs Adult music that kids enjoy. Here is a good blog: http://www.zooglobble.com/
and yes, parental guilt is fine--Heavenly Father is always happy when we make good choices, but I think he is 'well-pleased' when we go the extra mile.
My son has always been a big fan of Regina Spektor, mainly "Fidelity" and "On The Radio".
He doesn't understand the words, but he loves to bounce and try to "sing" along.
Also, that kind of guilt is crucial. You're not saying "I'd love you so much if. . " you're saying it would make you happy. Totally different.
Jack Johnson - "Upside Down" (it's from Curious George), and lots of his other music. Also, Jacob loves our old Sugar Ray CD. Think "Abra abra kadabra...I wanna reach out and grab ya"..not the "black panties with an angel face" part. Someday when I have time, I am excited to check out everyone elses suggestions.
we are big fans of Elizabeth Mitchell in our house..it is old folk songs and the kind of songs your grandma sings to the kids..it is very gentle and pretty--but the kids can sing along.
Our favorite album is You are my Little Bird....
My kids also love the Beatles and SHOW TUNES!! I know they annoy most people (I don't mind them) but the kids love the fact that the songs tell and story and it is easy to remember the words. We are listening to Into the Woods and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Starlight Express a lot these days, we just got off a Chicago kick....
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