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MUSIC
A decade ago the children’s music market was very
limited. We could choose between Peter Coombe, Patsy Biscoe (oh where would we
have been without Patsy?), Don Spencer and Fransiscus Henry (now called “Mr
Whiskas”). But that was about it. If, in the adult music market we only had
half a dozen artists to choose from, we’d get bored pretty quickly. And so it
was with children’s music. I got bored. My daughter got bored. Before long she
was bopping along to my music. Great music, but inappropriate lyrics.
At least now we have a much wider market to choose from:
The Wiggles, the Hooley Dooleys, Christine Hutchinson, Monica Trapaga, The Music
Man, High Five… to name just a few. That’s all fine and well. But children
grow up. They start school and move beyond nursery rhymes, simplistic lyrics, 30
second songs, action songs, songs about cute little animals, the ABC. So
although we have more to choose from, we still don’t have music that appeals
to children beyond preschool. Many parents have shared with me how fundamental
that gap is. For example, Marg’s seven year old daughter, Bonnie, was singing
the lyrics “I’m horny, horny, horny….” To which Marg told Bonnie that it
was, in fact, “I’m honey, honey, honey…” Conversely, Marg noticed that
Bonnie loved to dance and groove away to High Five. “The action and dances and
clothes, the whole image, seems to be a package for children from 7, 8 upwards
to maybe 10 or 11. Yet, the lyrics are geared towards pre-school. My daughter
loved the whole funky look of High Five, but lost interest pretty quickly,
saying the songs were ‘babyish’.” There should be music out there for the
children that have gone beyond Playschool. And there is. It’s just not that
easy to find.
Mumsweb has uncovered some great Australian and
International children’s music that are absolute gems. This is the sort of
music the whole family can listen to: and we mean all of you. No more repetitive
clenched teeth ‘I’m-going-to-drive
off-the-road-if-we-don’t-turn-this-music-off!’ kind of stuff. We bet that
some of you will listen to these artists when the kids aren’t even around! All
that being said, we do think that Australian children’s music artists are
providing a much needed wider selection for the preschool market. We salute you
and will continue to support you. We’d just like to expand the market to give
you more choice, which is what mumsweb is all about: providing parents with more
choice and variety in all aspects of parenthood. Each month we’ll focus on a
new artist, direct you to their site and how to purchase their CDs and
cassettes. Alternatively, if you find some gems of your own, tell us about them.
Email fionaetc@mumsweb.com.
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