# Eminem: appropriate for kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437 "2002-10-08T21:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@fader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fader)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/1 "2002-10-08T21:43:19Z")
So I on my spare time I watch my sister’s kids on the weekend so she can get some QT and chores done. I never thought to censor my music in front of them. So one day, I picked up my sister and she got in the car. I was listening to Eminem’s new cd and she got so upset I was listening to this in front of the kids. So the next day, she came and burned this cd called, “For the Kids” for me to listen to. I’m not going to lie, it’s actually pretty good. They had Cake, Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLauglin on it. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/2 "2002-10-08T22:10:39Z")
I wouldn’t let my kids listen to Eminem. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/3 "2002-10-08T22:33:09Z")
Me neither. I pretty much hate him, although I have to admit, I thought a few (very few) of his songs are pretty good. The ones that don’t talk about bitch-slappin’ ho’s and faggots and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/4 "2002-10-08T23:00:20Z")
And the ones that talk about murdering his wife and putting her body in the trunk of his car. Eminem is such a sweetheart.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Asshat. (Eminem, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/5 "2002-10-08T23:01:22Z")
Nah. Eminem+kids=bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/6 "2002-10-09T00:54:09Z")
I don’t think he’s even appropriate for _adults_. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/7 "2002-10-09T02:43:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > \*\*I don’t think he’s even appropriate for _adults_. \*\* Si if he’s not appropriate for kids or adults, I guess that leaves the most impressionable market of all…teenagers! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/8 "2002-10-09T02:46:50Z")
I just saw the trailer for 8 Mile ~ Disney it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/9 "2002-10-09T02:47:55Z")
To paraphrase Beavis and Butthead [sub] I know, how ironic[/sub], This shouldnt be listened to by anyone! Not an Eminem fan; even though some of his hooks have some listenability, the rest just kills it. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/10 "2002-10-09T02:55:54Z")
I’m a big Eminem fan. It’s my _Rage-Angry-I-Hate-All-You-Motherfuckers_ music. Always makes me feel better when I sing **Kill You** at the top of my lungs. Having said that, I really don’t think it’s suitable for children at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/11 "2002-10-09T07:19:04Z")
Eminem is an excellent lyricist, and I like his attitude, though I don’t always agree with his politics. He’s honest, I’ll give him that. But regarding the OP, I think it depends on how old the “kids” are. Probably not appropriate, from the sound of things. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/12 "2002-10-09T09:03:37Z")
I’ve bought all of his albums and really like a lot of his lyrics; very clever even if I don’t agree with what he is saying. However, if I had kids younger than about 13 I wouldn’t want them listening to him. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/13 "2002-10-09T13:44:21Z")
I like Eminem, the melodies and the way he strings his lyrics together, and in some of his songs, he’s really funny. But, he is not appropriate for children, I have to censor myself when my daugther is in the car and watch TV at home. ---
**Author:** ![fader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@fader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fader)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/14 "2002-10-09T20:42:26Z")
I don’t know what I was thinking. (Obviously I wasn’t) I like Eminem, but I’m old enough to know not to be influenced by what I hear and listen to. LOL. Not going to lie, I’ve been listening to that “For the Kids” cd even though my nephew and niece aren’t around. But that will be our secret. But, if you ever see a guy jamming to Guster’s rendition of “I’ve Got to Be Clean” then it’ll probably be me. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/15 "2002-10-09T22:11:21Z")
…my attitude when my then-12 year-old sister bought one of his albums was basically, “well, it isn’t anything my parents haven’t yelled at each other before, so whatever.” However, would my kids ever get to listen to him? Hell no–or, at the very least, I wouldn’t expose them to his music on purpose. Even though I generally like his music. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/16 "2002-10-09T23:04:07Z")
Quoth Eminem: “… I wouldn’t let Hailie (his daughter) listen to me either…” So even he doesn’t think kids should be listening to his music. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/17 "2002-10-10T00:10:14Z")
Ever heard “Nugget” by Cake? Not suitable for children! Maybe Em is a little mature for the littl’uns now. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/18 "2002-10-10T06:52:39Z")
I like that you’re sensitive enough to your sister to see her point and she’s sensitive enough to you to get you a cd you _can_ share with the kids. Oh, and I like that you watch her kids in the first place. I’ve always listened to a wide variety of music in front of my children, but there are definitely songs I’ve censored. Even some pretty “tame,” mainstream artists have songs with words or even concepts I’m not prepared to have the children hear. I have more than one cd that I find myself automatically reaching for the skip button on certain tracks whether the kids are present or not. Now that my children are older (13 and 9), I don’t always skip songs just because of a bad word or two; they know that I expect them to be mature enough to know not to repeat certain things (nothing they haven’t heard on the playground by now anyway). And some songs have been the springboards for really good discussions - my children could have intelligent conversations about the themes of Elvis Costello’s _Let Him Dangle_ or Peter Gabriel’s _Games Without Frontiers_, for instance. However, I’m not an Eminem fan, and I haven’t really listened to enough of his music to tell you whether I’d want my kids hearing it. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/19 "2002-10-10T16:11:23Z")
Here’s a little snippet from “Cleaning Out My Closet” “But guess what, yer gettin’ older now and it’s cold when your lonely. An’ Nathan’s getting’ up so quick, he’s gonna know that your phoney. / And Hailie’s getting’ so big now, you should see her, she’s beautiful. But you’ll never see her, she won’t even be at your funeral. / See what hurts me the most is you won’t admit you was wrong. Bitch, do ya song. Keep tellin’ yourself that you was a mom. / But how dare you try to take what you didn’t help me to get. You selfish bitch, I hope you fuckin’ burn in hell for this shit. / Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me? Well, guess what, I am dead. Dead to you as can be.” Here’s the cite for entire vile [**song**](http://www.reallyrics.com/lyrics%5CE001200050004.asp) if you can stomach it. I let Little Honey listen to songs which have some “Profanity” but I draw the line at songs which are filled with “Hate” ---
**Author:** ![elll\_bellz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e95f7d/32.png) [@elll\_bellz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elll_bellz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437/20 "2023-10-12T01:40:25Z")
Ok, I swear everyone saying Eminem is bad for everyone is gonna get it. I think that it is ok for 13 and up, I started listening at 9 years old, maybe I am just the worst person alive. I am almost 24. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eminem-appropriate-for-kids/131437.md?page=2)