How to Choose Children's Music

There are lots of wonderful CDs and tapes available for children of all ages, but it's sometimes hard to find children's music that the whole family will enjoy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• CD Collections For Children
• CDs - Children's
• Celtic Music For Flute & Whistle CD
• Christmas CDs
• Classical Music CDs
• Lullaby CD's

1. Look for music that fits various aspects of your child's personality. Find silly, bouncy music for the times when your child loves to dance around and mellow, soothing lullabies for sleepy moments.
2. Find music for all occasions. There are lots of great seasonal collections for kids, many of which will be fun for the whole family.
3. Search for CDs or tapes that fit your child's interests and tastes. A budding ballerina or violinist might enjoy a CD of classical music for children, while a young guitar aficionado might enjoy folk music or Latin tunes.
4. Read reviews. Many regional and national parenting magazines and papers offer regular reviews of children's music and usually include information about style, quality and target age range.
5. Ask other parents for recommendations, or check out CDs and tapes from the library before you buy them to see whether they are appropriate for your child's stage of development.
6. Buy music that you can live with ' something that seems cute and fun at first may drive you crazy after multiple listenings or on a long road trip.
7. Encourage your children to listen to many different types of music to help them develop their intellectual skills as well as their cultural tastes. Some experts believe that listening to Mozart can help children develop analytical skills and that many pieces of Baroque music can help increase overall intellectual performance.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for collections of music by various artists. These will offer a good sampling of styles, and you can look for more work by the artists you and your children like the most.
• Find out whether the liner notes include lyric sheets. These are great for kids and parents who love to sing along.
• Don't feel you have to stick to music written for children. Many kids love all sorts of "grown-up" music, including reggae, folk, rock, country and just about anything else.
• Many artists record music for both children and adults, so find out whether your favorite musicians have released any children's recordings.
• When buying "grown-up" music for your kids, watch out for lyrics that you may find inappropriate. In some countries, music may contain rating labels, but listen to the entire CD or tape first if you have any doubts.
• Watch the volume control. Hearing damage can start early, if children are allowed to listen to very loud music for long periods of time.