Showing off music to your kids.

[Nonreality]

I just had a load of fun showing Led Zeppelin to my 15 yr old son. He already likes most of my music but it was cool explaining the nuances of the styles to him. That is one of the things that I really like about music, not that everything is perfect but the styles and history of things. He saw some similar things in music he liked but admitted that this sounded more precise and with more true energy. It was fun. The SB really can be helpful in the family thing. It's nice to be able to switch from one album to another and one song to another in an instant to show what you are talking about. I've never seen this brought up but it's another advantage of the SB.

[widman]

My son is a big Green Day fan, so it made sense to have him listen to some early punk rockers (The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones...). Now these artists are in heavy rotation on his MP3 player.

And I am especially pleased when my 8-year old daughter can identify Bob Dylan, even when she hasn't previously heard the specific song.

pete

I just had a load of fun showing Led Zeppelin to my 15 yr old son. He already likes most of my music but it was cool explaining the nuances of the styles to him. That is one of the things that I really like about music, not that everything is perfect but the styles and history of things. He saw some similar things in music he liked but admitted that this sounded more precise and with more true energy. It was fun. The SB really can be helpful in the family thing. It's nice to be able to switch from one album to another and one song to another in an instant to show what you are talking about. I've never seen this brought up but it's another advantage of the SB.

[maggior]

Since the age of 3 (she's now almost 5), my daughter could identify Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett when I would play them. Granted she would think any trumpet solo was Miles, but come on, she was only 3!! :-).

Kids are amazing.

I'm just waiting for her to be old enough to justify having a squeezebox in her room. :-). I have to wait until she is at least able to read.

[bklaas]

my #1 played track listed on last.fm has been Beck - Que Onda Guero solely because my daughter, then age 2, insisted on it by name...no other song would do. It's stayed atop my chart since 2006.

cheers,
#!/ben

[MickeyG]

My son has had a SB3 in his bedroom since he was 6 years old. I think a Squeezebox provides a reason for kids to read and would therefore accelerate their progress on the learning curve.

It's well known in educational circles that reading something interesting is key to motivating kids to read.

I would think that finding your favorite songs on an SB3 display would provide plenty of motivation to read. Who wants to ask Dad to do that?

So ... go ahead and put a Squeezebox in her room!

Just my two cents.

Mickey

[maggior]

My son has had a SB3 in his bedroom since he was 6 years old. I think a Squeezebox provides a reason for kids to read and would therefore accelerate their progress on the learning curve.

It's well known in educational circles that reading something interesting is key to motivating kids to read.

I would think that finding your favorite songs on an SB3 display would provide plenty of motivation to read. Who wants to ask Dad to do that?

So ... go ahead and put a Squeezebox in her room!

Just my two cents.

Mickey

We read to her all of the time and she is now showing an interest in learning to read. I'll remember your argument when I bring it up to my wife about putting a squeezebox in her room :-).

Actually now she has an old Sony mp3 player in her room now. She's had it since she was 2. Friends and family laugh and say it's quite fitting that my daughter, at the age of 2, had her first mp3 player.

My son, who will be 2 this coming January, is just now bopping on the couch listening to The Orb (It's The Orb on Kompakt) while feeding me his Cars crackers. Yet another music fanatic in training :-).

[Mike Meyer]

My daughters, ages 5 & 9, really enjoy some of my music. I normally listen to metal so if they are around I'll put on the more melodic, catchy stuff that will stick in your head. They request songs to me quite a bit.

One of my more proud moments was driving home from my parents on Xmas eve listening to Xmas songs on the radio, my then 4 year old asked me to turn that off and put on Abandoned by Kamelot, a power metal band. I obliged.

[Goodsounds]

Kids adore their parents until and unless the parents show themselves to be unworthy. So if you say, "Listen to this, it is good", they will and they will believe that what you say is the absolute truth. The blind hero worship does moderate a bit as they get older (to say the least!).

The good news is that the kids of the fine people who visit here will have a positive influence on their communities and will make the world a better place. The bad news is that the morons of the world (I use this word in a colloquial way, not in a medical way) also have kids who will emulate their parents, and so on a net basis, things will be the same in the future.

[Dogberry2]

The cool thing is when your kids start to bring you music that they have discovered. Ours are grown up now and out on their own, but I still remember the day my 14-year old son said, "Dad, check this out!" and put on Van Morrison's jazz album How Long Has This Been Going On? Though we had introduced them to Van, this was an album I wasn't familiar with; he had found it during his explorations at the library. He also brought us Roy Buchanan, and my daughter brought Ashley MacIsaac home one day, among others. It was great to see them blossom into music lovers in their own right, exploring, questioning, trying, and finding new things, and then wanting to share them with friends, each other, and us.

My wife and I always took the approach of introducing the kids to as many different types and styles of art as possible, whether music, books, paintings, movies, philosophies and ideas, or whatever, and then guiding and stimulating them as they developed their own tastes. We figured the more we exposed them to, the better chance they'd have of finding things that truly interested them, and the more they would learn just how wide the world is, and how many possibilities there are for pleasure, joy and wonder. And seeing how their tastes grew and evolved was part of the fun. Sure, being kids, they made "mistakes" from time to time. (My son's three-month infatuation with Anthrax was particularly trying, but he got over it. And the clash of their dueling stereos, each trying to out-volume the other, sometimes forced an executive decision that both their stereos would be turned off for awhile.) But over the years, they found and cultivated their love of music, in their own individual ways. There was always plenty of overlap, with each other and with us, but each took directions of their own. (My daughter loves Cats while my son isn't really interested; on the other hand she has never been able to understand his love of Bitches Brew. But they have more tastes in common than not.)

Watching them grow and learn and explore (and even compete a little in their discoveries) was one of the most gratifying things for my wife and me over the past thirty years. Certainly we weren't their only influences, but we allow ourselves the pride of taking just a little bit of credit for how they turned out. Not only did we have the pleasure of seeing their interests and passions blossom, but we gained two great, close friends we enjoy hanging out with, sharing music, conversation, and good times. We're looking forward to seeing their kids grow up, too.

[jamie140]

Too true. It's pretty cool to hear my 18 year old daughter listening to early 70's motown, soul, pre-disco etc.