The Wheels On the Bus…
Oct 1st, 2008 by madeleine
“…take another little piece of my heart now, baaaaby…” It’s a snowy evening, there’s a crackling fire in the fireplace casting a warm glow around the living room. Dinner is in the oven and our little house is filled with the scent of roast chicken and rosemary. Dad will be home soon. Janis Joplin is playing on the stereo. I’m six years old. Mum and I sing along to the delight of Katie who watches from her playpen, laughing and bouncing. “…cause you know you got it, lord, when it makes you feel gooood…”
I loved the music my parents played, and the freedom we enjoyed in appreciating it. My parents were not afraid to share their musical tastes with us. I certainly didn’t like everything; I don’t miss hearing The Pogues and I think there was a Linda Rondstadt phase in there that I’ve blocked from my mind, but I can’t take a road trip without singing Beach Boys songs and I can’t clean the house without singing along to The Clancy Brothers. Despite my entire family’s lack of ability to keep a tune, we shared many many wonderful bonding experiences through music.
Somewhere along the line someone figured out that kids should have their own line of music, specifically tailored by age. Sell parents the idea that young brains will do better with appropriate music and whamo, you’ve just opened up a whole new market! Now you can have your music, your kids can have theirs. Forget about bonding (unless you’re ready to groove to the purple passions of Barney) and while you’re at it, kiss your sanity good-bye, for as anyone who has listened extensively to kids’ music knows, it’s designed for kids and no one else.
Music is all about rhythm, beats, melodies, and passion. This stuff isn’t age or gender specific, it’s universal. Kids naturally respond to music of all genres. The benefits of music are vast, from math and language skills, to creativity and physicality. (If it’s scientific data you’re after, the web has numerous articles on the positive effects of music in relation to spatial-temporal reasoning, sensory integration, early cognitive development, and learning.) You don’t need to be a musician or have any training to appreciate and share music with your child; it’s one of the basest of human reactions.
We can enjoy the same things as our children. Thank goodness my mother didn’t torture herself (or us) with the saccharin sweet, made-for-kids albums that are marketed to parents today. The point of this is not to dissuade you from ever buying another kids’ album. There are some decent ones, and kids do love a good interactive session of song and dance. But, if you don’t feel like listening to The Wheels on the Bus every day, just realize that kids don’t need a kid-specific song in order to reap the benefits music has to offer. They can clap and stomp to Twist and Shout by the Beatles as well as any kids’ tune; their minds will appreciate a melodic verse or catchy beat from almost any popular music that’s out there today. By sharing music you love with your kids you open up a terrific opportunity for bonding, and an appreciation of music that will last a lifetime.