Boom, boom pow: What's playing on your child's iPod
Maggie Cary, a national board certified teacher has been an educator for more than 17 years. She is certified in secondary education and holds a master’s degree in early childhood education.
Over the years she has mentored countless teachers and advised hundreds of parents. Cary has taught children from preschool through high school. She also offers classroom advice on website Classroom Talk. She last wrote about teaching manners.
A mom recently mentioned to me that her kids were going around the house all day singing Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas.
She asked me if there was anything wrong with that. I’d heard parts of it on the radio in passing and I thought it was a catchy tune. What could be bad about that, I thought. Right before going to bed my curiosity got the best of me and I Googled the song online.
The chorus repeats the line: I got that Boom Boom Pow ... I got that natural style. I went to bed and kept waking up on the hour at 2, 3 and 4 a.m. with that song playing in my head and disturbing my dreams. “I got that Boom Boom Pow... I got that natural style”.
When I dragged myself out of bed it was still playing between my ears as I brushed my teeth and got ready for work. “I Got That Boom Boom Pow.”
When I looked into the song further, it surprised me that there were two versions of the song.
The "clean" version and the original version. I listened to both and trust me you wouldn’t want your 10-year-old saying or singing the original lyrics that contain a four-letter word frequently!
Since then I’ve found that there are several versions of the song and video. Some of them are appropriate for younger children and some are better suited to teenagers or adults. Who knew that there were so many choices?
Now that the holidays are over and the new iPods are unwrapped, juiced up and ready to play maybe you should take a moment and borrow those ear buds from your child.
Without a doubt your teenagers may find the original version of certain songs cooler then the cleaned up version. Which one do you want them listening to?
Music has a subtle way of influencing who we are and how we see ourselves; especially true for tweens and teens. Elementary-age children want to be that teenager. So please turn on and tune in to your child’s music and find out what that Boom Boom Pow and other songs are all about.
(Pictured: Black Eyed Peas)
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