Storytime

It was my first class with a 10 year old ukulele student. I asked him what his favourite songs were, as I always ask new students. He listed a few I didn’t know, including one called “Kill Bill”. The song name surprised me. What kind of lyrics would this song have? 🤔🤔🤔

I forgot about it until a few days later, when I received a message from the singer of a band I perform with. She gave me the list of songs we’d be performing at the next concert. And guess what - “Kill Bill” was on the list. Now there was no avoiding it. I listened to the song and studied the lyrics. I was right… definitely not positive lyrics!
 

The chorus goes like this:

“I might kill my ex, not the best idea

Kill his girlfriend next, how’d I get here?

Rather be in jail than alone”

Did the songwriter literally want to murder people? Maybe not - but these are definitely not the kinds of lyrics I want my kids hearing. 

We don’t always have control over what our kids hear

This was the favourite song of my 10 year old student! It reminded me that many popular songs have negative messages. But sometimes, you DON’T HAVE CONTROL over what they hear. Since I’ve been in Toronto, I’ve heard this song blasted over the speakers in public places many times.

Songs are POWERFUL!

I don’t think people realize how powerful song lyrics are. Songs are catchy, so we remember the words even when we’re not listening to a song. When a song gets stuck in our head, our brains receive that message on repeat. And that message affects us, for better or for worse!

If you don’t think the message of “Kill Bill” is that bad, just look up the lyrics to “WAP”, another popular song I’ve heard in public. It’s truly shocking what our kids have access to, even when they’re not looking for it.

Balance out the negative with the positive

So what can we do, as parents and caregivers, to prevent this kind of negative messaging from reaching the developing minds of our kids?
 

Unfortunately, we might not be able to prevent it 100%. But we CAN balance out the negative songs with POSITIVE songs. Check out this Spotify playlist I made called “Positive Songs for Kids”, or create your own playlist on Spotify, YouTube or your favourite streaming platform. Listen to these songs often!
 

Just press PLAY

We have the power to positively impact our children (and our own minds!) with the music we listen to. Whether it’s at home or in the car, all you have to do is press play.

Tell me!

What’s your favourite positive song? Hit reply and let me know. I just might add it to my Positive Songs for Kids Playlist!

Love, Lindsay 

p.s. if you want to help me create more positive, meaningful songs for kids and adults, you can support me for just $5/month on Patreon. Click here to learn more. ❤️