We are taking a drive down the highway, the music is blasting, the baby is singing along and next thing I know Doctor Dre is screaming an anti-gay slur through the speakers. I am left fumbling to turn down the volume, but the damage is done. Pandora needs a radio-edit option for us parents.
Pandora is awesome. It is one of those services that has revolutionized the way we listen to music. The widget is on my main home screen of my Droid X. It is also one of the quick launch icons on my car dock. Carmen loves pop music, thanks to the wife’s (sometimes questionable) taste, so I set up a pop-rock station for her. I love hip-hop and reggaeton, so we are both in the weeds when it comes to appropriate music for the little one.
What music is safe for her to listen to?
I know there are companies out there that make special music for young children. Sirius and XM both have kid stations. Most cities have Radio Disney on their AM/FM stations. Neither one of us can tolerate children’s music. We get enough fill of that at home through our little TV czar. Our television viewing is no longer a democracy thanks to her. As for Radio Disney and the like, well, we don’t like to sit through 5 minutes worth of commercials between songs.
You can fill your MP3 player or phone with music and play it from there. This is true, however, it is more affordable to use free or premium services through streaming services. If you have a solid data connection through a smartphone, you might as well harness its capabilities through long road trips.
What happens when the little one repeats a curse word?
I remember when the wife dropped something on her toe. She hopped up and down on one foot and blurted out, “Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!” Needless to say, weeks later the little one was running around saying the same thing. We kept our poker faces on. We ignored her and did not make a big deal of it. We had hoped not to have a repeat occurrence. Luckily, there wasn’t one.
We are not trying to keep her in a bubble. We are just trying to control what we can, whenever we can. Pop music hasn’t been child-friendly since the 80′s or so. There were always innuendos, but there was not much profanity was incorporated into the lyrics. Back in the day, as a child, did you really know what Madonna was singing about? F-bombs, a-hole, etc. I can sometimes overlook. If I know the song I will sing along and substitute words. She’ll sing along using those same substitute words.
The case for censorship.
I am not a big fan of censorship. I do not like religious zealots or politicians telling me or my family what is or what is not appropriate for me and my family to listen to or watch even if I agree with what they have to say. I do feel that the media companies should give their customer base some options, within reason of course.
The simplest way to do this is through music. Companies like Pandora, Rdio, MOG and the like should offer radio-edit options to, at least, their paid subscribers. This self-policing would probably keep the legislators at bay as this medium of consuming content expands into the mainstream.
More info:
- Check out this great article on swearing from BabyCenter.
How do you police today’s music with your kids? How do you handle the situation when your toddler uses a curse word?
aadmin is a contributor at DadPulse. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.
