AIBU Pop music knowledge

[Narnia72]

AIBU to not want my 8 year old to grow up too quickly?

She came home yesterday (having friendship problems anyway so I am more sensitive to these things atm) saying that she wasn't "cool" and the cool girls all know about pop music and she doesn't.

I've never stopped her from listening to anything, but we have radio 2, 3 or classic fm on as a default. In the car they all (she's the eldest of 3) like either story cds or musicals,

I don't remember getting into pop music until I was at least 12, but I had quite old fashioned parents. TBH I've never really paid much attention to the latest trends as I'm a classical musician, so the kids have been more exposed to that.

So, if I am BU, which I probably am, what's the best way to give an 8 year old a crash course in the latest music and what should I get her listening to? Radio 1?

Help an old fuddy duddy please....

I loved pop music at 6/7 and hated all the old rock and roll my parents liked.

My dd is 8 and listens to Little Mix , Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Metallica, Oasis, Pink and Nickelback.

I'd get the latest Pop Party album and the latest Now album, but for the love of God not Spice Girls, it may be my area but they're seen as a rubbish old group.

Yes some of the lyrics are a bit risqué but that's always been the way, I do agree that some songs go too far and avoid them when I can but I used to wholeheartedly sing along to all the Take That songs when I was 7 and had I'm fine. I don't have the music channels on though because the videos aren't something I want my dcs to see at such young ages.

Risqué lyrics are a lot more risqué than they used to be. There was a time the BBC wouldn't play a song with the word "bloody" in the lyrics.

It's a hard one. You want your DD to enjoy pop music, but not with offensive lyrics which quickly fail to shock and become the norm.

Try a foreign radio station to see if you can get songs with lyrics no-one can understand!

Sorry, no idea. I prefer ... Bach. And radio 4.

I do remember DD1 and her cousin, aged about 5, singing When two become one by the Spice Girls in the back of the car - note and word perfect and cringing. But they're in their mid 20s now and both in long term steady relationships, so no harm done.

. It's a minefield, don't envy you, OP!

I remember my mum going ballistic because I was sitting on our front steps aged about eleven singing 'Sandra Dee' from Grease - I had no idea what the words meant!

Except maybe "Keep your filthy paws/off my silky drawers"!

Thanks all, sorry to come back to this so late. Right, I'm going to look at the latest now cd and put some suitable songs on spotify for her to listen to.

I don't make her listen to anything, but I tend to have the radio on in the background during the day and it's usually radio 2. I listen to classical stuff in the evenings.

I don't want her to feel like she's not cool because she's going through a really tricky time with friends and it's another thing for them to tease her about. It's a minefield. How do you teach them that it's ok to like their own things and being cool isn't the be all and end all. If my mum had said that to me when I was struggling to fit in I'd have just felt even more alienated because she didn't understand what I was going through.

I will also go back to capital in the mornings, might help too. Will have a proper read through and take all the suggestions on board, but thanks for all your help, it's great

Op I'm exactly the same, dp and I are older parents, she knows the while repertoire of Cats and Evita and loves the Police and George 'Mike' when in her dads car or Radio 2
What bought it home to me was when I picked her up from her friends a while ago, they were singing on the Karaoke and when it was her turn age asked If they had Magical Mr Mistofoleez....bless her.she has just began year two and now comes home singing Justin Bieber etc.
Your thread has prompted me to get her some Cd's and I've downloaded kids You Tube on her Kindle.so glad it's not just me that feels like this.

Apologies for state of post, phone is playing up.

I like 6 music but if Dd (6) is in the car we listen to Fun Kids so she can hear all the pop stuff. I felt sorry for her at parties and discos when she didn't know any of the songs that her friends knew.

Sia is the name of the moment in this house but my DD is older so maybe not all her stuff is appropriate. The Next Step dance show and all the songs from it are also a big thing where we are. Capital radio seems to be the channel of choice in the car.

Oh God the next step is constantly on here too. I don't get it at all

Fun Kids is good. It's a kids radio station and plays the (hideous) pop music that they are all talking about in the playground, but without having to expose them to the awfulness of MTV etc. My kids have digital radio alarm clocks to have Fun Kids on in the morning and evening in their rooms (so I don't have to listen to it).

Then we all listen to Heart, Smooth, R2 for more pop. Also they normally get a "Now That's What I Call Music 87576" CD in their Christmas stockings. It's old school but they like to have CDs. Oh and I've got Amazon Prime so we stream a lot of pop music. They'll hear something on the radio and we'll stream it or find something else by the same artist. It helps with their musical education that I'm a massive pop fan . I know bugger all about classical though.

Also a lot of old school pop still really resonates. Madness, Queen, Beatles, Michael Jackson - all of these are great introductions. How could you not relish dancing round the kitchen to Madness?

Absolutely hate "The Next Step". If it's supposed to be Fame for the new generation....well, it just isn't [bleugh emoticon]

More Fun Kids (digital radio) fans here. I like it because as well as pop they play other stuff kids will like ( soundtracks to films), talk about current affairs and even review children's books.

DDs are 8 and 5 and both love Taylor Swift, Little Mix, 1D, Katy Perry, Justin Beiber etc We all love finding the videos to their favourite songs on YouTube ... But you should probably vet them first. 'Cake by the ocean' by DNC gave me quite a shock!

oh yes. We had Cake by the Ocean as our holiday song and I downloaded it without realising there was a not-suitable-for-R2 version.

My two are 9 and 12 and have always been into pop / current music. DS1 got a mixing deck for Christmas 2 years ago, that was when he was trying to emulate Martin Garrison!

I was definitely into pop music when I was 8 (Wham) then 10 (Madonna) then the usual chart stuff til I went onto dance from around 14. I still have that on YouTube in the car (Lisa Lashes anyone?) or radio 2 ointment the mornings so a bit of a range!

I'd stick Capital on in the car, get a couple of Now cds and get started that way. We have MTV on at the weekends too when we're all sat around playing games or drinking.

Am frantically taking notes. Never heard of Fun Kids, will seek it out. Sounds like she'll love the Next Step too.

I am such a techno dunce, I have amazon prime and spotify. Does amazon prime give the same access to music as spotify? Will be cancelling spotify pronto if so.

I've never heard of Sia... Gulp. Clearly I am going to have to do some research and find out who all these people are. I've heard of Taylor Swift and know Adele, the couple of songs I've heard from Justin Bieber made me want to vomit, but Little Mix have passed me by. Wasn't Katy Perry the girl who married Russell Brand?

Would it be cool to get her into the stuff I listened to instead? I've loads of Madonna, INXS, Prince (and Take That)....

Thanks all, this is really helpful.

If you've got as far as her being 9 years old without her subjecting you to Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and (now thankfully no more) One Direction, you've done really well.

I loved wham and Duran Duran when I was 8. I don't think being into pop music at that age is anything new. Spice girls were aimed at the preteens back in their day too. We had totp and the Sunday charts to keep up to date but it seems harder now. That said my 7yo is always begging me to buy new tunes for her so she must be hearing them from somewhere but she prefers rasio2 to radio1

Little Mix are good. My 5 year old loves Katy Perry. Some of Justin Bieber's newer stuff hasn't been bad more dancey type stuff.

Inspired by this thread, I dug our digital radio from the back of the cupboard and put it on. I had no idea what station to put on tbh. The ones I seem to like played older music. Some said they weren't available which I found odd. I didn't see this kids one though on the list.

What stations would you recommend?

Oh and are people/kids into still CDs? I thought they were pretty obsolete now and it is all about downloads and streaming. I haven't bought a CD in years.

I have an ipod which gets plugged into the car or docking station in the kitchen when we're at home- if you have something similar could you make up a playlist with a mixture of things you like and some more current "popular" artists? Look at the tracklists on the past few "Now" CDs for some inspiration?

I listen to alot of Ska and Punk music so DS has mostly been exposed to that and enjoys it/ requests alot of it but he likes everything else too- from Metallica to Minecraft parodies of pop songs.

I don't think there's anything wrong with influencing your child's taste in music- I started off enjoying things like Bowie, TRex and The Who because of my dad and it evolved from there as I got older and had access to my own money or the internet and could explore a bit more.

I think, as with everything, offerring a variety is best and she'll find her own way from there. What about going through a couple of magazines with her too? (It was Smash Hits when I was younger, not sure what todays equivalent is) then you could pick some bands or songs to explore together?

Just bung radio 1 on. 'My 2 year old sings quite confidently along to pretty much all the songs in the charts just from listening in the car. She's also a depeche mode and simple minds fan

I have made both DCs their own playlists on my ipod, DDs has the Frozen soundtrack .

I can't bring them up on my music. It's mainly hip hop and definitely not child friendly , hence their own playlists. They have a few requests I need to buy though as I haven't got around to it yet.

Would it be cool to get her into the stuff I listened to instead? I've loads of Madonna, INXS, Prince

About as cool as your parents trying to make you listen to Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones when you wanted to get Kick...

My daughter is 8, we listen to R2 for Pick of the Pops and Sounds of the Sixties and a bit of Simon Mayo sometimes, R1 in the car, 6Music in the kitchen, Heart sometimes for a bit of club classics and whatever else takes our fancy. She likes some Justin Bieber, Years and Years and a few others, but mostly she's mad about Michael Jackson at the moment and youtubes him all the time.

She is also really enjoying watching the old Top of the Pops on BBC4, currently up to 1982.

I don't think age has much to do with it, if you're into new music that's what you're in to - I'm 51, I still love hearing new things that make me go "what was that, play it again" as much as I love old favourites. We are both happy to find our new favourite thing, it's just that for her some of those songs are brand new and some are over 30 years old.

Radio 1 will do it the job if you need and you might find something new you like too...