Earlier this month, news broke that officials in Florida were blasting the children’s song “Baby Shark” on a loop to discourage homeless people from sleeping in a local park. In other words, that song is considered to be unbearable. It will drive anyone away.
American parents – or probably just any American, parent or not – would agree. Listening to “Baby Shark” is akin to torture. Yet somehow that song has racked up a staggering three billion views on YouTube. Who is watching it? Why aren’t parents putting their feet down?
My children are ages four and two. I’ve banned the “Baby Shark” song from my home. That goes alongside my bans on swear words and the movie “Frozen.” Inevitably, my children have been exposed to the song. We don’t live under a rock (if only that were possible!) But whenever they hear it, I tell them, “We don’t sing ‘Baby Shark.’” I’ve certainly never put it on YouTube for them.
What does it say about our culture that our most popular children’s song is unbearably annoying? Why do we believe our children deserve such low-quality entertainment? When these children grow up, do you think they will be interested in listening to the best music our civilization has produced through the centuries and seek out those contemporary works that will stand the test of time? Of course not. From “Baby Shark,” they will graduate to other low-quality music. Because that’s all they’ve been prepared for.
The playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.” American parents should consider applying that rule to more areas of their children’s lives.
It’s actually very easy to give a child access to great music that suits their level of development. Americans have been left a great cultural legacy in the form of classic nursery rhymes. Most kids grow up with a few of these like “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Humpty Dumpty,” but there are dozens if not hundreds more out there. Some nursery rhymes are centuries old. They have been handed down from generation to generation, probably in large part because parents enjoyed them as well as kids.
“Baby Shark” won’t be sung by our grandchildren (well, at least, I hope it won’t be.) During my childhood, the TV show “Barney” was the big thing for kids. I’m not even 40 years old, but Barney’s signature song “I Love You, You Love Me” is already disappearing in the dust bin of history. Classic nursery rhymes, however, have stood the test of time. They are like literature for small children.
When my first baby was born, I received two books of nursery rhymes with beautiful, high-quality illustrations. My children enjoy looking at the pictures, and this develops their sense of aesthetics. I spent time on YouTube learning melodies, but my kids also love it when I read the nursery rhymes aloud in a rhythmic way.
Reading or singing nursery rhymes with children is fantastic for their development. They learn new vocabulary. They develop an ear for rhyme and rhythm. It boosts memorization skills. Nursery rhymes are the best kind of music and poetry we have available for small children. As they grow older, these kids will be prepared to move on to other high-quality content.
Perhaps most importantly, classic nursery rhymes are not annoying – unlike “Baby Shark.” That’s good for parents. After all, their needs matter, too.
[Image Credit: Youtube]
1 Comment
David Chasse
September 22, 2022, 1:42 amListen, I understand where you are coming from. And I get it. But honestly, they are CHILDREN. They shouldn’t have to conform to our standards as far as what is good music and what isn’t. Sure you don’t want a child in their teens loving it but I’ve never met one that does. My little girl is 3. And yes I want to pull my hair out over the song. But I sing it with her. She likes it. And I like she is being her own person. I won’t expect her to adore “Stairway to Heaven” or some Joe Bonnamassa. She does, somewhat, but I don’t force those things on her. Children naturally take up what they see their parents get into. I know I sure did. After the age of four or five I just HAD to be able to sing along with dad to James Taylor, or Toto. I’ve rocked out to Kansas, The Eagles with him. But it was when I was READY to do so. I will most certainly not squash something my daughter loves that helps her. This pandemic has ruined these children. She is in speech therapy and struggles to get her words out. It hurts so bad to see her look up to the left and think hard and try to come up with the words. But after showing her baby shark when I noticed she was smiling hearing it, she started SPEAKING. Yes it was baby shark first, but then she learned daddy, and various other family members. Now she can effectively tell you she is happy or when she doesn’t like something. And some of those videos I’ve obviously watched with her and saw how she was learning from them. And for that I’m grateful. To each their own. But they are kids, and to expect them to like the things we like is absurd and finishing to their imagination. She’s so creative. She LOVES art. And usually yes it’s sharks and unicorns she wants to color or even try to draw now. So I’ll never turn it off on her. Obviously she gets a set amount of time to watch it, I mean I deserve some time with the projector too lol. But the therapist was getting no where until I started letting her watch baby shark SOME. I’m a single father, no I won’t always get things right but I feel like I gave her a major gift and continue to do so when I let her watch it. I don’t want her to be exactly like me. She does love some bluegrass songs, and will dance her heart out to some EDM, which is great. I’m very music minded. It’s my life. And it shows through through her. And I became that way by not being boxed in from an early age. I just feel like this take is a little extreme and will create adults that have no actual taste because they won’t be willing to venture out to new music.
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