I've been writing a lot about music this month and I'm about to add one more music-related post to the list. This time around, it's going to be about songs that have kids as their major audience and the level of impact such songs could have in the life and development of kids who listen to those songs.
At this very moment, I live alone as an adult and I don't have any kids around me. However, I was once a kid who had my little siblings around and I can still recall the sort of songs we were meant to enjoy back then as kids. My Dad who's a big music fan often came home with trendy children's songs which had really interesting music videos.
Back in those kids, a musical group called "Destined Kids" was quite popular in Nigeria. The musical group was made up of 4 (maybe, 5) siblings who composed and sang songs that were highly targeted at kids as their main audience. The songs were also Christian. So, my parents didn't miss buying their music album whenever they released a new one.
I remember my younger sisters always asking for those songs to be played on repeat for them and I didn't exactly enjoy having those on repeat. Lol. Me and my younger brother were fairly older than our sisters and we were more thrilled about old school Chinese and American action Movies.
During those childhood days, we already understood that a consistent power supply is never guaranteed in our part of the world. So, there was always a little drama attached to what we would have on-screen whenever there was a power supply. My parents surely preferred we listen to those children's music videos or animated movies. However, my brother and I never missed an opportunity to watch what gave us more thrill whenever Mum and Dad were away.
Regardless of all that drama, the sort of songs I listened to as a kid were quite memorable and I'm almost sure that those songs were cautiously curated by my parents before placing it on our DVD shelf.
There were a bunch of other songs I remember listening to as kids and those weren't songs that were targeted at kids as the main audience. I heard a lot of songs by Michael Jackson, ABBA, Don Meon, Lucky Dube, and some other trendy musicians of those days. I wouldn't say any of those were mainly targeted at kids. Yet, we could sit in our parlor and watch music videos with my Dad without feeling awkward.
I'm not even a Dad right now but I'm genuinely scared of what is flying around as "suitable for kids" content.
This is the case for both Music and Movies. Even an anime could hold a shit ton of bullshit that isn't suitable for kids. So, I genuinely believe that anyone who has a duty of care over any kid has to be very careful of the sort of music or Movies he/she allows the kids to be exposed to.
Even when the song or music is "purely for kids", I suggest giving it a first look before exposing your kids to that.
If you think that's too much work on your part as a parent, you may as well have a look at what's happening in school parties organized for kids that are between 8 - 12. I saw a similar video that was shared from a Nigerian Primary School and the songs were disgusting to the ears.
You know the weird part?
Parents were vibing to that song. Haha.
My point is exactly that music has become more nasty over the years and even the songs that are made for kids are not completely safe from bullshit. Curate songs and Movies properly before exposing your kids to them.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop or Comma.
Thumbnail Image is taken from Unsplash
This is my entry to today's prompt on #juneinleo monthly prompt. Feel free to check out their profile and explore their prompt.