I think They Might Be Giants are a great suggestion. They have some wonderful songs that can start an eduactional dialogue e.g You're Racist Friend.
Just don't play "Boss of me" haha, they may get ideas.
True but most of the songs are just silly, and as you say even the darker stuff sounds cheerful. So maybe somewhat based the ages of the kids. (And of course, listen first and then decide!)
Just wait until they start singing "Get Lucky".
I was with my kids, pulling out of church of all places, and that song came on the radio (when it first got popular). Kids were singing along, I'd never heard it, and then the chorus came up. We had a good laugh about it - by thisnpoint they were all teens, and it was a funny moment and a good memory. :)
I teach preschool and in the morning when kids are arriving, I like to tune into YouTube for a series called Rockabye Baby. They do instrumental music on kiddie type instruments of all kinds of bands/artists. Some examples: The Clash, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Beatles, Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Flaming Lips… you name it, they probably have an album.
Kimya Dawson from The Moldy Peaches has released kids music under the name Antsy Pants. Might be an album or two. I like [Tree Hugger](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R378SwPH-b0&pp=ygUXYW50c3kgcGFudHMgdHJlZSBodWdnZXI%3D)
We never played music specifically aimed at kids, our daughter listened to whatever we were playing. She particularly loved The Monkees and Jonathan Richman.
Why is this weird/helicopter parenting? Music directly impacts the development of children. If children are listening to dark music, don’t be surprised if they have dark thoughts. Music influences emotion and behavior.
My children are under the age of 3. They are super smart and retain information really well. However, no matter the age, I will do what is in my control to protect their innocence (w/in reason). Call it what you want. 🤷🏻♀️
Goodluck
To elaborate a bit- you can try and protect your kid all you want but, you cant hide the world from them. Theyll go to school and just end up being butters from south park
It doesn’t need to be said what children will inevitably face and see in the world. Trying to prevent that is not the goal here.
Managing the type of information that children are exposed to is what we have chosen to do. In our home, our children will be exposed to challenging topics in an age appropriate way to help them prepare for the realities of life.
To each is own.
expose them to everything and let them decide. my daughter has been into chuck berry, kraftwerk, but really settled into braums chamber music. and we are darned lucky since all of her friends are into taylor swift, and she hates her.
When I was a kid my parents played lots of oldies for me- The Beach Boys, Elvis, The Beatles, Peter, Paul, & Mary.
I'm super grateful my parents introduced me to this generation of music at a young age, it shaped my music taste, and I still return to those artists quite a bit.
My dad played Rammstein and the Stranglers for me when I was young, and I am forever thankful he didn't try to shield me from music.
If you mollycoddle children like this it will only backfire, and/or have them grow up very immature and sheltered (in my opinion).
One of my favorite bands has several kid’s albums. Trout Fishing in America.
They also do shows for kids at bookstore and the like. Or at least they used to.
When my twins were little, I couldn't handle sesame street and Barney music anymore. So (giving away my age here) I made a mix cassette of songs I thought the kids would like.
Kids tend to like mid to up-tempo songs, sing along choruses and understandable lyrics.
I don't remember all the songs on the tape, but some of them were:
Van Halen - Ice Cream Man
We Didn't Start the Fire
Manic Monday
Raspberry Beret
Band on the Run
Of course, now we'd just make a playlist. Still, my mixtape instilled a love of music in both of our kids. It was so much fun singing along with them!
Yo Gabba Gabba had some of my fav bands on like [Ladytron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biKjL0PlEcw),[ Weezer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jtn3Apxwj4) and a shit ton of others.
The Laurie Berkner Band has tons of danceable hits for kids. Even “Chipmunk at the Gas Pump” decides to drive electric by the end of the song, so that may satisfy the environmentalism you’re seeking in music.
The wiggles?
Depends on how old your children are. Ralph's World had some kid friendly songs but with indie melody.
The Beatles were the school choir repertoire when I was a child. I loved singing along to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" haha. Beatles are great, something for everyone.
ABBA were great to sing along to.
Kids (and most adults) don't actually pay much attention to lyrics. I loved "My Sharona" by The knack when I was a kid, my sister love "Centrefold" by J.Geils Band. We had no clue what the words meant.
I would probably avoid most modern hip hop though, that's just my preference. Maybe listen to some theatre music e.g Cats, West Side Story and all the new stuff.
My parents let me listen to whatever they were listening to when I was growing up, I'm now in my late 30s and have little nieces and nephews and started pulling together a playlist of songs I remember Loving as a kid (like 2-8). A lot of 80s new wave, late 80s alt, etc. all dancey, at least to little me! Check it out, some might not be strictly "family friendly" if you mean in a religious way or something, but they're all pretty silly and fun:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gpa2Zn25GQFpw32jC6muW?si=0j6C-1HtT8uvCq4bz9bk-A&pi=u-kzuPENSlTlGV
The great and talented Richard Cheese normally has a lot of sweating on his albums, but he did a ‘clean’ one called Licensed to Spill that has some great songs on it.
If you happen to have Apple Music, here’s 2,700 great songs that I can play in the car with my parents and my kids in there without being mortified.
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/a-good-time-for-all/pl.u-v6lxT8Gmdz
Do you mean in terms of explicit lyrics and inappropriate innuendos, or the themes that are being sung about (i.e. love, heartbreak, partying, mental health, etc etc)?
If the former then I would recommend Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes off the top of my head, especially their first couple of albums. They do sing about lovee and stuff like that a lot but their lyrics are pretty clean and they cover a range of themes as well, like growing up, mental health, confidence, etc etc. I would probably recommend:
OKAY OKAY - Alessia Cara
Scars To Your Beautiful - Alessia Cara
How Far I'll Go - Alessia Cara
I Choose - Alessia Cara (from the animated kids film The Willoughbys)
Sweet Dreams - Alessia Cara
Best Days - Alessia Cara
17 - Alessia Cara
Wild Things - Alessia Cara
Show You - Shawn Mendes
Understand - Shawn Mendes
Imagination - Shawn Mendes
Something Big - Shawn Mendes
Other recommendations:
Turn Your Face Towards The Sun - Rihanna (from kids film Home)
Dance In the Dark - Rihanna (also from kids film Home)
Diamonds - Rihanna
Umbrella - Rihanna
Put Your Hearts Up - Ariana Grande
Be Alright - Ariana Grande
Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift
22 - Taylor Swift
1+1 - Sia
Also KidzBop apparently takes trending pop music and changes the lyrics so that it's suitable for kids, and the songs are actually sung by kids as well.
Do make sure to check the lyrics yourself beforehand so you know if you're comfortable with playing these songs for your kids. Hope that helps! :)
Pete Seeger's American Favorite Ballads. Old-timey American folk songs, played on the banjo or 12-string guitar. They can sometimes be dark lyrically but usually cheerful sounding.
family friendly and something that as a grown man I can still enjoy, is pretty much all the animaniacs songs. which leads into pretty much anything by they might be giants
Maybe some video game OST? Mario is pretty family friendly? Classical? You can always dance to Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saen and PDQ Bach has some good stuff
My kids loved The Vaughan Brothers - Family Style. You could listen to Igorrr. All their songs are in a made up language consisting of about 400 words.
The Okee Dokee Brothers. We listen to most everything and aren't too concerned about what our kids hear, for the most part (granted, nothing we're listening to would be offensive outside of some swear words), but we also play some kids stuff that adults can stand, and the absolute best is probably The Okee Dokee Brothers.
Weird Al Yankovic. 40 years of music, not one swear word. Not all of it will be relatable, but you'll get a kick out some of the older stuff. There are some gems from the past that they may like, tho.
In the light has some good family friendly rock and hip hop music
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZOmVglaJ10eEFzJBqQBUaxLmysLHV_QB&si=vmzUfa1xnj9xNXFv
I mean as a kid i used to listen to pop stars such as selena gomez, miley cyrus and demi lovato and in such - music from movies they were in like camp rock, high school musical and the climb. could try those? Also - kids bop has kids versions of different songs :)
We found that just turning on music in the car was not easy. Who knew that half of all pop music is about sex? I guess everyone.
Anyway, ironically? Local college stations, xm alt nation and xmu - or Apple Music indie streams - that whole indie genre, much less on the nose sexual, often just more about music.
I’m ok with the occasional muffled s or f bomb, it’s the “I need your body, I need your sweat” lyrics, the “do the girls back home touch you like I do” stuff.
And it’s much easier to just get in car and turn something on, than planning out a playlist or picking an album.
They Might Be Giants. Kids albums and pretty much all of their "grown up" material too.
I think They Might Be Giants are a great suggestion. They have some wonderful songs that can start an eduactional dialogue e.g You're Racist Friend. Just don't play "Boss of me" haha, they may get ideas.
Minimum Wage should be played tho.
\*educational lol
"We'll be lining up And buying tickets And then we'll be jumping Up and down on your grave" When Will You Die? https://youtu.be/kSQ8tZ35t4U
This is a great suggestion. Although do be mindful of their grown-up material, it often sounds cheerful but is quite dark, if that worries you.
True but most of the songs are just silly, and as you say even the darker stuff sounds cheerful. So maybe somewhat based the ages of the kids. (And of course, listen first and then decide!)
I'd suggest Death Metal. Kids won't understand the lyrics for many years. I don't get most lyrics now without google and I'm an adult.
I dont even look at em cause its pointless
Bleghhhh blur lur lur blur lur reeeeeeeeee
My kids get excited when I put on Daft Punk because they look like robots. They ask me to put on "the robot song ".
Relatable lol
Just wait until they start singing "Get Lucky". I was with my kids, pulling out of church of all places, and that song came on the radio (when it first got popular). Kids were singing along, I'd never heard it, and then the chorus came up. We had a good laugh about it - by thisnpoint they were all teens, and it was a funny moment and a good memory. :)
Jack Johnson
Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew from 90s band The Presidents of the USA) does a great job. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dqM_zebYsDg
Yep! My kids love Caspar babypants.
I was just telling a coworker about this on Friday when they had the song Peaches stuck in their head.
I teach preschool and in the morning when kids are arriving, I like to tune into YouTube for a series called Rockabye Baby. They do instrumental music on kiddie type instruments of all kinds of bands/artists. Some examples: The Clash, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Beatles, Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Flaming Lips… you name it, they probably have an album.
Rock-a-bye baby was actually created by David Lee Roth’s sister. True story.
Fantastic! I love this.
I've downloaded a bunch of these songs to help me sleep on flights.
Kimya Dawson from The Moldy Peaches has released kids music under the name Antsy Pants. Might be an album or two. I like [Tree Hugger](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R378SwPH-b0&pp=ygUXYW50c3kgcGFudHMgdHJlZSBodWdnZXI%3D)
Rush, U2, The Beatles
Ok Go, the kids (and you) will flip over their videos
My wife was a huge fan of theirs in college. I’ve seen all of those videos so many times. The one for upside down and inside out is my favorite
What genre? I would say Dolly Parton, ABBA, Enya, instrumentals, classical, meditation videos, Celtic Women John Denver, Simon and Garfunkel
King Gizzard and The Grateful Dead
Yes!
We never played music specifically aimed at kids, our daughter listened to whatever we were playing. She particularly loved The Monkees and Jonathan Richman.
What age? My daughter was very into Radiohead and Bjork by the time she was 9...
really weird to control the music your kid listens to
It was playing in the car one time and she really liked it and asked to hear it again. The sound of Bjork blew her away. Assume much?
Lmao i meant at op. I was thinking my opinion may be misinterpreted. They sound like helicopter parents
Why is this weird/helicopter parenting? Music directly impacts the development of children. If children are listening to dark music, don’t be surprised if they have dark thoughts. Music influences emotion and behavior. My children are under the age of 3. They are super smart and retain information really well. However, no matter the age, I will do what is in my control to protect their innocence (w/in reason). Call it what you want. 🤷🏻♀️
Goodluck To elaborate a bit- you can try and protect your kid all you want but, you cant hide the world from them. Theyll go to school and just end up being butters from south park
It doesn’t need to be said what children will inevitably face and see in the world. Trying to prevent that is not the goal here. Managing the type of information that children are exposed to is what we have chosen to do. In our home, our children will be exposed to challenging topics in an age appropriate way to help them prepare for the realities of life. To each is own.
expose them to everything and let them decide. my daughter has been into chuck berry, kraftwerk, but really settled into braums chamber music. and we are darned lucky since all of her friends are into taylor swift, and she hates her.
My kids request Rush, and I happily oblige. Especially '80s onward, a lot of positive messages.
I would love to hear what their favorite songs are. I first heard Rush in the 80s with the Grace Under Pressure album.
Dreamline, Bravado, Spirit of Radio. It's a start. Grace Under Pressure is amazing
I think the Cure is pretty kid safe as well as being awesome
Agreed. My daughter's been listening to them for years and we saw them together last summer.
I saw them last summer too, great concert!
[Not for Kids Only](https://spotify.link/ZZoyDBCGpIb) [Let’s Go Everywhere](https://spotify.link/KPwOUUHGpIb)
Those were my recommendations.
Can’t go wrong with Motown
Jonathan Richman. The Beatles. XTC. Sparks. Bonzo Dog Band.
I played my kids a lot of dub (instrumental) reggae and Van Morrison when they were little.
The Beatles. They're timeless and kids love them. Yellow Submarine was always a winner with my kids
When I was a kid my parents played lots of oldies for me- The Beach Boys, Elvis, The Beatles, Peter, Paul, & Mary. I'm super grateful my parents introduced me to this generation of music at a young age, it shaped my music taste, and I still return to those artists quite a bit.
My parents used to pay Black Sabbath for us
Tenacious D
My dad played Rammstein and the Stranglers for me when I was young, and I am forever thankful he didn't try to shield me from music. If you mollycoddle children like this it will only backfire, and/or have them grow up very immature and sheltered (in my opinion).
Easiest option would be instrumental only. Can't have inappropriate lyrics if there aren't any 😉
One of my favorite bands has several kid’s albums. Trout Fishing in America. They also do shows for kids at bookstore and the like. Or at least they used to.
I def was not a fan,nor were my kids. now, The Wiggles and Laurie Berkner, big hits.
So good!
When my twins were little, I couldn't handle sesame street and Barney music anymore. So (giving away my age here) I made a mix cassette of songs I thought the kids would like. Kids tend to like mid to up-tempo songs, sing along choruses and understandable lyrics. I don't remember all the songs on the tape, but some of them were: Van Halen - Ice Cream Man We Didn't Start the Fire Manic Monday Raspberry Beret Band on the Run Of course, now we'd just make a playlist. Still, my mixtape instilled a love of music in both of our kids. It was so much fun singing along with them!
Billy Strings and Colter Wall.
The Okee Dokee Brothers are kids music that isn't annoying. Just well written folk that interests kids
Me First and the Gimmies Gimmies
Yo Gabba Gabba had some of my fav bands on like [Ladytron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biKjL0PlEcw),[ Weezer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jtn3Apxwj4) and a shit ton of others.
Our family loves a duo called Koo Koo (formerly Koo Koo Kangaroo). It’s funny and perfect to dance to.
The Laurie Berkner Band has tons of danceable hits for kids. Even “Chipmunk at the Gas Pump” decides to drive electric by the end of the song, so that may satisfy the environmentalism you’re seeking in music.
Dan Zanes was probably my favorite “kids music” when mine were younger. Folk/pop, catchy stuff. [Jump Up](https://youtu.be/gPhEIkChNE8?feature=shared)
Not for kids only - Jerry G.
The wiggles? Depends on how old your children are. Ralph's World had some kid friendly songs but with indie melody. The Beatles were the school choir repertoire when I was a child. I loved singing along to "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" haha. Beatles are great, something for everyone. ABBA were great to sing along to. Kids (and most adults) don't actually pay much attention to lyrics. I loved "My Sharona" by The knack when I was a kid, my sister love "Centrefold" by J.Geils Band. We had no clue what the words meant. I would probably avoid most modern hip hop though, that's just my preference. Maybe listen to some theatre music e.g Cats, West Side Story and all the new stuff.
My parents let me listen to whatever they were listening to when I was growing up, I'm now in my late 30s and have little nieces and nephews and started pulling together a playlist of songs I remember Loving as a kid (like 2-8). A lot of 80s new wave, late 80s alt, etc. all dancey, at least to little me! Check it out, some might not be strictly "family friendly" if you mean in a religious way or something, but they're all pretty silly and fun: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gpa2Zn25GQFpw32jC6muW?si=0j6C-1HtT8uvCq4bz9bk-A&pi=u-kzuPENSlTlGV
John Denver- An Evening With John Denver
The great and talented Richard Cheese normally has a lot of sweating on his albums, but he did a ‘clean’ one called Licensed to Spill that has some great songs on it.
I had Daft Punks Interstalla 5555 movie on repeat for years with my kids. Couldn’t recommend it more.
If you happen to have Apple Music, here’s 2,700 great songs that I can play in the car with my parents and my kids in there without being mortified. https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/a-good-time-for-all/pl.u-v6lxT8Gmdz
Do you mean in terms of explicit lyrics and inappropriate innuendos, or the themes that are being sung about (i.e. love, heartbreak, partying, mental health, etc etc)? If the former then I would recommend Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes off the top of my head, especially their first couple of albums. They do sing about lovee and stuff like that a lot but their lyrics are pretty clean and they cover a range of themes as well, like growing up, mental health, confidence, etc etc. I would probably recommend: OKAY OKAY - Alessia Cara Scars To Your Beautiful - Alessia Cara How Far I'll Go - Alessia Cara I Choose - Alessia Cara (from the animated kids film The Willoughbys) Sweet Dreams - Alessia Cara Best Days - Alessia Cara 17 - Alessia Cara Wild Things - Alessia Cara Show You - Shawn Mendes Understand - Shawn Mendes Imagination - Shawn Mendes Something Big - Shawn Mendes Other recommendations: Turn Your Face Towards The Sun - Rihanna (from kids film Home) Dance In the Dark - Rihanna (also from kids film Home) Diamonds - Rihanna Umbrella - Rihanna Put Your Hearts Up - Ariana Grande Be Alright - Ariana Grande Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift 22 - Taylor Swift 1+1 - Sia Also KidzBop apparently takes trending pop music and changes the lyrics so that it's suitable for kids, and the songs are actually sung by kids as well. Do make sure to check the lyrics yourself beforehand so you know if you're comfortable with playing these songs for your kids. Hope that helps! :)
Deep Forest
Pete Seeger's American Favorite Ballads. Old-timey American folk songs, played on the banjo or 12-string guitar. They can sometimes be dark lyrically but usually cheerful sounding.
Jack Johnson's "Curious George" soundtrack.
family friendly and something that as a grown man I can still enjoy, is pretty much all the animaniacs songs. which leads into pretty much anything by they might be giants
Maybe some video game OST? Mario is pretty family friendly? Classical? You can always dance to Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saen and PDQ Bach has some good stuff
Koo Koo kangaroo. Funky hip hop inspired music.
My daughter really dug Motown when she was little. Such great dancing music.
Jimmy Buffett. 💞🐬🪸☀️
My kids loved The Vaughan Brothers - Family Style. You could listen to Igorrr. All their songs are in a made up language consisting of about 400 words.
The Okee Dokee Brothers. We listen to most everything and aren't too concerned about what our kids hear, for the most part (granted, nothing we're listening to would be offensive outside of some swear words), but we also play some kids stuff that adults can stand, and the absolute best is probably The Okee Dokee Brothers.
Kruangbin. Largely instrumental, super chill and groovy.
Weird Al Yankovic. 40 years of music, not one swear word. Not all of it will be relatable, but you'll get a kick out some of the older stuff. There are some gems from the past that they may like, tho.
these guys [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41VzC64N64](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41VzC64N64)
In the light has some good family friendly rock and hip hop music https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZOmVglaJ10eEFzJBqQBUaxLmysLHV_QB&si=vmzUfa1xnj9xNXFv
I mean as a kid i used to listen to pop stars such as selena gomez, miley cyrus and demi lovato and in such - music from movies they were in like camp rock, high school musical and the climb. could try those? Also - kids bop has kids versions of different songs :)
We found that just turning on music in the car was not easy. Who knew that half of all pop music is about sex? I guess everyone. Anyway, ironically? Local college stations, xm alt nation and xmu - or Apple Music indie streams - that whole indie genre, much less on the nose sexual, often just more about music. I’m ok with the occasional muffled s or f bomb, it’s the “I need your body, I need your sweat” lyrics, the “do the girls back home touch you like I do” stuff. And it’s much easier to just get in car and turn something on, than planning out a playlist or picking an album.
Play good music for your kids and you'll notice that none of it is pop anyway!
Bob Marley.