There are days when I just dont want to listen to nursery rhymes with my daughter in the car…there is just so much ‘one finger and thumb keep moving’ I can do! I went to uni in the late 90′s and there is certain music which I like listening to and bobbing my head too. However that same music has now evolved to a new ‘low’ level which makes it inappropriate for me to listen to with my daughter in the car.
Today I just wanted to listen to radio and I had to change the channel a record 15 times in a 20 min journey. I couldnt listen to Jessie J ‘doin it like a dude’ and then came Nicole who ‘didnt want you to wash your mouth out cos she likes it dirty’. Then there were some lame ad breaks we listened to and then came on Nicki Minaj who wanted to know whether you knew who the ‘F’ she was. I then decided to give it one last shot and there was RiRi telling me how much she loves ‘whips and chains and SEX’
In the end it just had to be ’1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive….’
On so many levels this music and lyrics are disturbing, but the immediate issue for me is that my daughter is 3yrs old and she repeats everything…and I mean everything. Yesterday she told my husband ‘mummy said you need to stop nagging her’ so I need to be careful what I say and also what she listens too. I couldn’t live with myself if I heard her repeating any of the lyrics above.
There will be a time soon when I will be worrying that she is listening and mimicking these so called ‘divas’ of music and the influence they have. There are many women role models for her – its a shame they arent in the mainstream all the time. I just wish that the tone of the lyrics could be improved – as Im not sure why such language has to be used – but thats my age coming out!
I feel if we make it so acceptable to have these lyrics so open in the mainstream where are kids are exposed to it, we are in essence saying that the behavior the lyrics support is acceptable and the norm. Perhaps a watershed would work as it does in TV.
So I have now created a CD which has selected songs from Adele, Michael Buble and Phil Collins and if I ever want to listen to radio I will stick to Magic and Heart!
