Kids' music that Mom likes: Why I created a toddler iPod playlist

Guest blogger Kathy Bushouse is a mother to one rambunctious toddler who turns 2 on Saturday. In her spare time, she covers schools for the Sun Sentinel and contributes to two Sun Sentinel blogs.

To show my son I loved him, I made him a mix tape.

Well, it’s sort of a mix tape. My son Andrew has his own playlist on my iPod.

While I made it for him, it’s also a playlist for me. We spend at least 35 minutes in the car together each day, and honestly, some of the music on my iPod is not appropriate for 2-year-old ears.

We have some children’s CDs, but I either forget to bring them or they’re stashed in my husband’s car. And truth be told, there’s only so much children’s music I can stomach.

Thus, the iPod playlist. A kid-friendly playlist gives me peace of mind that he won’t hear songs with wildly inappropriate lyrics. (I’ll save those for when he’s not in the car) And since I always carry my iPod, I’ll always have mom-approved music at the ready.

I know a kid playlist is not a novel idea – I’m sure other parents have done this long before me – but I decided to do it after our commute home one day, when I caught Andrew grooving to They Might Be Giants’ “Birdhouse In Your Soul.” When we got home, I pulled out the CD and played the track for him, and he danced.

Little did I know that the group I loved in high school and college was now a kids’ act.

I downloaded some new TMBG and combed through the music already on our iTunes to assemble Andrew’s playlist. (I use the iPod, but feel free to substitute your own MP3 player)

I’ve got 54 songs on there, and while I haven’t tried them all on Andrew yet, I already know he has some favorites.

This is Andrew’s top 5, by my best estimation (which is the amount of kicking and cheering that goes on during and after the song). Feel free to try them out on your kids:

No. 5: Anything by Jason Mraz. Really, any Jason Mraz song will do. Andrew loves him. He’s actually cried a few times when I tried to flip through a Jason Mraz song. If anyone reading this knows Jason Mraz or one of his people, please pass along my thanks for making such catchy songs that don’t contain curse words.

"Wordplay" is one of his favorites:

More songs (and videos) after the jump.

No. 4: “Jump, Jive an’ Wail,” The Brian Setzer Orchestra. This is a suggestion I found on an iTunes playlist that had a name like “Kids Music for Adults.” Totally worth the 99 cents I paid for it.

Here's a live version of the song from YouTube:

No. 3: “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton-John. I think this one troubles my husband, because he’s not a Newton-John fan. But Andrew loves her, and so do I. Xanadu is our favorite in the Newton-John songbook – he tries to hit the high notes at the end, when Olivia Newton-John sings “Xanadu-ooo-oooooo.” It cracks me up.

No. 2: “Birdhouse In Your Soul,” They Might Be Giants. He tries to sing along. He has no idea what he’s saying, but he tries to sing along. The line where they sing how they’d be fired “After killing Jason off/And countless screaming Argonauts” gives me pause, but I remind myself that it’s based on a tale from Greek mythology and therefore counts as educational.

No. 1: “Song 2,” Blur. You know the song that goes “Woo-hoo!” and you can’t really make out any of the lyrics? This is Andrew’s favorite. He sings “Woo-hoo.” He jumps. He yells, “Yeah yeah!” He demands that we play it at least once a day.

Fellow parents, if you’ve got any songs that your kids like, please send them my way. Andrew’s playlist can always be expanded.

POSTED IN: Guest Post (23), Toddler (105)

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Combining songs from the 70's, 80's and 90's with popular children's fairytales are a winning combination for parents and children. Check out http://www.floridasuperstarproductions.com/asp/shows_view.asp?login=&show=2 and give a listen!

Posted by: Robert Guerra | June 4, 2009 5:49 PM

I'm older school than you Kathy so my "songs that my kids like and I like too" are more from another era.

For instance, when my kids were little, they LOVED the 1910 Fruitgum Company, particularly "Simon Says" and the Herman's Hermits "I'm Leaning on a Lamp", which has changes in tempo that my kids LOVED to dance to.

Posted by: Purveyor of Truth | June 4, 2009 6:11 PM

This is very funny, although I too am troubled by Andrew's love of "Xanadu."
I think it's great he is listening to real music. Parents who just play "kids' music" for their children are doing them a disservice.
Andrew needs some U2!!!
And maybe Jason Mraz will babysit?

Posted by: Kathryn Quigley | June 4, 2009 9:59 PM

@Purveyor of Truth: Thanks! I'll have to check these out. My musical tastes are all over the place, so I'm sure I'll like them.

To this day, I still listen to the Beach Boys because my father played them all the time when I was younger. And I've started Andrew on them, too.

@KQ: I'm hoping Jason Mraz will babysit, but I'm not sure. Jason Mraz, if you're in South Florida, give me a shout.

As for U2, I've tried but to no avail. Plus the early U2 catalog isn't exactly kid-friendly -- can you imagine Andrew rocking out to "Sunday, Bloody Sunday?" I cannot.

He does, however, like Discoteque. So there's hope for his U2 love.

@Robert: Will check out the site. Thanks!

Posted by: Kathy Bushouse | June 5, 2009 10:13 AM

Hi Joy and Kathy,
I’m writing from Surfdog Records. Thanks for posting about Brian on your blog, we really appreciate it! We’re gearing up to release a brand new Brian Setzer album this Fall and I’d love to add you on to our e-mail list so we can keep you in the loop. I did not see an e-mail address on your blog. Please send me an e-mail at megan@surfdog.com if you would like to be added to our list!
Best,
Megan

Posted by: Megan | July 22, 2009 3:50 PM

Posted by: Megan | July 22, 2009 3:53 PM

Posted by: Megan | July 22, 2009 3:58 PM

Interesting Videos!!

Posted by: Kids Music | October 8, 2009 4:37 AM