My father was the director of the local drum corp, and as a result all his sons and my mom were heavily involved in the activity. Take upwards of 100 or so kids, and try to teach them musical instruments (percussion and brass) as well as color guard / dance routines. Then, throw them all on a bus for most of the summer, and tour around the country competing on football fields with other drum corps for weeks at a time. For a young kid growing up, it was great fun. And, I learned some invaluable skills that I’ve used all my life. While I’m not a professional musician, music continues to play a role in my life. I taught kids of all different ages, and learned what it means to instill a sense of discipline, and respect towards young people and from young people doing something we all enjoyed.

Believe it or not, the local drum corp was not always seen as the coolest activity for a kid to do where I grew up. As a result, we did seem to get quite a range of children involved in the activity. Some form very affluent homes who had a genuine love for the activity. And then there were others, whose parents seemed to view it as a way to unload their kids (and their problems) for long periods of time. My dad the director never turned any kid away, but at times seemed to be running a foster care business. He was a well respected teacher as a career, and other adults and teachers marveled (with some confusion) as to why he would want to spend even more time with kids after hours. I think, he just genuinely loved kids, and the activity of drum corp. That’s what kids really need. A role model that treats them with respect, demands respect from them, and shows them how to be passionate about something in life.

You can now order CDs, that have modified lyrics specific to your child, grandchild, nephew, or niece. It’s of course a little trickier to do than a book, but with the advancement in computer music software it is quite possible. In some cases, the names and facts are dubbed over an existing song track. But, the better software will have a library of pre sung names that are actually substituted in place of the original lyrics. While the former approach may sound more professional, I don’t think that to a younger child it will make much difference. Maybe just to the parents.

I know a few kids, that would love to hear this kind of music with their own names in it. My kids had a few of those personalized books when they were younger, but I had my own way of using that same technique with regular books and songs. While reading or singing songs with the kids, I would frequently substitute their names and friends names in place of the regular characters in the stories and songs. It was a lot of fun, to do it with a song they knew very well. Because of course they’ve heard it so many times, they could tell it from memory. But, when you mix it up a little it kind of throws them off. But in a good way.

At first they may not catch it, but then they do, and something kicks in. They look at you funny, tell you your singing it wrong, and insist you do it the right way. At least initially that’s how they react. The next time you recite the same book or song, they’re waiting for it. And I think they get a little disappointed if you don’t use your literary license and start messing with it. It makes things more fun, and get’s them thinking in more creative ways. So, in a way you’ve taken a legitimate learning experience and made it that much better.

While it would be silly to suggest that you get your kids to take piano or any musical instrument lessons just to become a celebrity. The point to the story here, is that what you do as a child or don’t do has serious implications over the rest of your life. The old “you’ll thank be for it later” line is never going to be appreciated at the time by our children, but one that is worth repeating. Music is a life skill, and one that can take you places you’ve never dreamed of. Even if it only amounts to creating an incredibly popular YouTube video. A part of growing up and becoming more human, is to understand the different aspects that our culture can offer. If you can find a way to make it fun for your kids, that that’s even better. If not, than do wimp out and let them off the hook because your afraid they won’t like you later. While it’s true that they may be picking out your retirement home someday, I suspect they’ll be a little more happy with you as an adult if they have plenty of options open as they become adults themselves.

Well, let’s start off with my favorite.  At the very least the 100 Sing-A-Long Songs For Kids box set is going to give you plenty of material to work with.  It of course has all the favorites that kids love like “The Wheels On The Bus”, and “Do Your Ears Hang Low”.  It’s 3 seperate CD’s so if you get tired of one, or your super sneaky and quick, you can switch them while the kids aren’t paying attention and listen to something newer.  There were even quite a few I had never heard of.  This CD set is really meant for the toddler group under five years of age.

If your looking for a kids CD with a bit more of a grown up fare, then you’d have a hard time going wrong with “For The Kids”.  It’s got some great tunes the kids will love, that are played by some very accomplished artists that mom and dad probably know.  Artists like Tom Wait, Sarah Mclachlan, Five For Fighting and Billy Bragg.  Now, don’t be concerned that all these older artists make this more of a CD for mom and dad, because it’s really not.  As the title says, it is for the kids.

Music can be an essential part of any kids life, or for that matter, any adults life.  It’s crucial to learning, growing, and an effective tool in reducing stress.  Yes, believe it or not kids have stress in their lives as well.  A bit of music can go a long way to improving everyone’s health and disposition.  I know an old music saying that goes something like the more types of music you love, the more you love music.  I think, that’s an important gift, and one that needs to be instilled in our children starting at a very young age.  CD’s like these, make the lesson a whole lot easier to learn.

Future Rock Star In Training

Growing up as a child surrounded by music, I can adamantly state that I’m a very different person today because of that music.  I was the son of a drummer, the son of a drum corp director, the son of an aspiring piano player, the son of an aspiring trumpeter, and the son of a music teacher.  That may say more for my father, then it says for me, but it also speaks volumes for the world I lived in.  There were always musicians of all shapes and sizes, and skill sets around my home.  Most were adults, but as I grew through the years,  many of my peers were up and coming musicians that to this day continue to pursue their love of music.  To say music in my childhood shaped me as an adult would be an understatement.  And I mean that in a very positive way.  With the exception of the big name celebrity types, I can’t think of a single person that was close to me as a child, that didn’t benefit from growing up with music in their life.  For many of my friends, it was an escape from a family or school life they couldn’t cope with.  I have to wonder how much better their family lives would have been, if their parents had exposed them more to music.

Apart from the sense of accomplishment music brings to a young child, is the benefits to learning it provides.  It truly is a pathway to the brain that works exceedingly well for some kids who otherwise have great difficulty in learning.  The neurological benefits of music is still a relatively new area of research.  It is believed, that the sensory stimulation that music provides children can actually help them when they need to start learning reading, writing, and arithmetic.  There are of course been all kinds of approaches to getting kids to listen to music at a very young age.  Even before their born, some mothers play music to their kids while their in the womb.  They believe, that music can be heard by children waiting to be born.  Then there are all sorts of videos and CDs you can get specifically targeted to children which are meant to nurture their mental abilities.  This usually involves classical music.  One of the jokes around our family, is that my father (the drummer) used to tap out rhythms and drum beats on our backs while burping us.  That little anecdote may answer why my father managed to have four sons who all grew to become very accomplished drummers.