# Do small children listen to regular music? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-small-children-listen-to-regular-music/435314 "2008-01-28T15:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-small-children-listen-to-regular-music/435314/41 "2008-01-30T16:45:58Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] As toddlers, kids music is the preference. Probably because they actually understand the lyrics: you know stuff about animals, cookies, candy, clowns, etc. come to mind. [/QUOTE] My parents were really into the arts. I remember that as toddlers my sister and I both liked show tunes (Oscar and Hammerstein type) because the narratives were relatively easy for us to understand and the vocals were reasonably easy to sing along to. IIRC, we tended to prefer the songs that were structured simply with themes that we understood. For example, “Aldonza” from _Man of La Mancha_ was way over our heads, but we liked the “Little Bird” song about the birdy in the cinnamon tree. Although my dad once told me that we would sing along phonetically when there was vocabulary we didn’t know, often with amusing results. Songs about stuff we understood was always easier to sing along with. Our parents played early Beatles and 1950s and 60s music too, which was often simple enough to sing along to, but when you’re four and the song is talking about “silhouettes on the shade”, we’d be asking: “What’s a ‘silhouette’?.. Well, then how can there be a silhouette if they’re standing in the shade?” Common sense questions when you don’t understand the imagery in the song. We’d take it all much more literally. Our parents had the radio on plenty enough, but I don’t think I started really listening to “regular music” until I was a first grader and our vocabularies were expanding like crazy so the songs started to become more relevent and understandable to us. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-small-children-listen-to-regular-music/435314/42 "2008-01-30T17:25:11Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] Mine listen to some real music. My 6 yo boy likes **Motorhead** ’s _Ace of Spades_, for instance (no intermediary steps for that one!) But they do tend to prefer kid’s music, just like they prefer animated TV shows. I also think that kids are extremely peer motivated. When they hear kid’s voices, they perk up and want to see what’s going on; if they hear adult voices, they tune it out (I’m sure a lot of parents can ditto me on that one). [/QUOTE] My daughter liked _Ace of Spades_ too, but my three-year-old son seemed to prefer Wolfmother. Of course, all three kids like the Laurie Berkner Band, the CD they got at Vacation Bible School, and the local music from Pittsburgh that my wife listens to in the car. We don’t shun kid’s music (and there’s some good kid’s music out there - They Might Be Giants have made this a second career) but there’s no reason to limit them to this. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-small-children-listen-to-regular-music/435314/43 "2008-01-30T17:38:01Z")
My 2-year-old likes some AC/DC, some Hip, and really loves “Battle Without Honor or Humanity,” the song from the “Kill Bill” commercials. However, she definitely prefers kids’ music, especially the Wiggles and anything on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It’s just simpler, upbeat, bright music with lyrics they can learn. There’s just no doubt at all that music made for kids is what she likes best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-small-children-listen-to-regular-music/435314.md?page=2)