Music for all in the family

Many of us have probably heard of the Mozart effect where it is believed that listening to classical music would boost the intelligence of your baby. While researchers may have debunked it recently, one cannot deny that music definitely has some kind of effect on the little ones. That is why many of us hum, sing or play the lullabies to our cherubs at bedtime. In a separate study in New York, however, it was found that music boosts memory retrieval in young infants (this was reported in an issue of The America Association of Pediatrics’s newsletter).

Regardless of the benefits listening to certain kinds of music, my husband and I both decided before our son was born that we want to expose him to a diverse genres of music – especially the ones that we love which covers a pretty broad range between husband and me. After all, who would inherit all our CD collection if not him, our singleton? But playing a White Stripe CD to a 2-month old baby would seem rather inappropriate. Besides we would not want to deprive him of the silliness of three escaping blind mice or Old MacDonald and his farm. But we want to heed the warning that one day demands will be made for a same song to be played over and over again. So, is there a way to compromise between a toddler’s wants and his parents’ tolerance for the same song the 100^th time?

Then, we found a series of jazz CD's which claims to have songs for kids which won't drive parents crazy when they are played for the 20 millionth time - Jazz for Kids. What it is is jazzy renditions of fun and silly kiddie songs. We ordered one from the series, Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake, and WE loved it! Our son first heard it when he was 3-month old and he still loves it today after a year. His all-time favorites from the album are Old McDonald (Ella Fitzgerald) and Ain't nobody here but us chickens (Louis Jordan). I personally love it, too, being a diehard jazz lover. We subsequently got a few other similar ones including Nicky’s Jazz for Kids and Miss Ella’s Playhouse.

If jazz if not your cup of tea - never mind - they also have Motown for Kids and Johnny Cash for Kids (if you’re into Country music). The next one on our list to purchase is Barenaked Ladies’ Snacktime.

For a sample of how some of these albums sound, go to Amazon.com, search for the album by name and listen to the one minute clip of all songs on the album. Good fun – for the kids and you. Enjoy!