"Louder Please"
I really love music, especially sharing what I think is good music with others. And so when it comes to my kids, I think it is so fun to force them to listen to all the things I love, because they don't really have a choice at this point, do they? Haha! Of course, I don't make them listen to things they have expressed a disinterest in, but if I want to listen to some of the good ol' punk rock I enjoyed in my formative years, they might as well hear the same thing.
In those formative years, I pretty exclusively listened to Christian music. Currently, I still don't listen to anything too racy, but as I am paying attention to the lyrics from more recent bands I enjoy, they can occasionally be about less kid-friendly topics. "Rhythm and Blues" by The Head and the Heart for instance -- the kids love this song and sing along every time. But when he says, "Oh come on darlin,' won't you let me drive you home? Oh come on darlin,' won't you let me turn you on," well, that's not something you want your kids singing, is it?
Or a more subtle one that comes from a recent favorite of mine, The Strumbrellas, is their song "Spirits," which is catchy and I am sure expresses some deep conflict or introspection on the part of their singer. But I just don't love hearing my kids sing, "I got guns in my head and they won't go, spirits in my head and they won't go." I tried to make it a little more G-rated by singing, "I got bugs in my hair and they won't go, spiders in my hair and they won't go," but Ellie soon realized I wasn't singing the right words and ignored me. (Plus Katie reminded me that that sounds like they have head lice.) It seems my kids have a great propensity for remembering words and melodies (something their Aunt Nicky has always been good at), which secures my belief that they will one day change the world with their music; but in the meantime, I have to be careful of what I listen to around the kids.
My solution lately has been to put a little more emphasis on fun worship music, or at least songs about God in general. I'm not a huge fan of worship music really, but a couple bands I love are All Sons and Daughters and The Rend Collective. They make good folk music that isn't cheesy or generic. I still find it difficult to really enjoy most worship music though, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Another victory in this area is that the girls typically like it pretty loud in the car (the little punk rock princesses that they are), but they used to just yell, "Louder!" to make their volume requests. Well, it has taken a while, but they are finally up to saying, "Louder please!" when they want more music and less Mom and Dad talking. It's the little things that keep you going, isn't it?
In those formative years, I pretty exclusively listened to Christian music. Currently, I still don't listen to anything too racy, but as I am paying attention to the lyrics from more recent bands I enjoy, they can occasionally be about less kid-friendly topics. "Rhythm and Blues" by The Head and the Heart for instance -- the kids love this song and sing along every time. But when he says, "Oh come on darlin,' won't you let me drive you home? Oh come on darlin,' won't you let me turn you on," well, that's not something you want your kids singing, is it?
Or a more subtle one that comes from a recent favorite of mine, The Strumbrellas, is their song "Spirits," which is catchy and I am sure expresses some deep conflict or introspection on the part of their singer. But I just don't love hearing my kids sing, "I got guns in my head and they won't go, spirits in my head and they won't go." I tried to make it a little more G-rated by singing, "I got bugs in my hair and they won't go, spiders in my hair and they won't go," but Ellie soon realized I wasn't singing the right words and ignored me. (Plus Katie reminded me that that sounds like they have head lice.) It seems my kids have a great propensity for remembering words and melodies (something their Aunt Nicky has always been good at), which secures my belief that they will one day change the world with their music; but in the meantime, I have to be careful of what I listen to around the kids.
My solution lately has been to put a little more emphasis on fun worship music, or at least songs about God in general. I'm not a huge fan of worship music really, but a couple bands I love are All Sons and Daughters and The Rend Collective. They make good folk music that isn't cheesy or generic. I still find it difficult to really enjoy most worship music though, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Another victory in this area is that the girls typically like it pretty loud in the car (the little punk rock princesses that they are), but they used to just yell, "Louder!" to make their volume requests. Well, it has taken a while, but they are finally up to saying, "Louder please!" when they want more music and less Mom and Dad talking. It's the little things that keep you going, isn't it?
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