Bruce Reyes-Chow: The Importance of Making Memories With Our Children
Do you censor your children's music?
Filed under: Tweens, Teens, Media, Gadgets, That's Entertainment
While driving my son to school, a morning radio show host was talking about his 8-year-old son and how his son had asked him to bring home the clean version of the song, "Soulja Boy." The host asked the listeners if they thought the song was acceptable for children. The majority of the callers responded that they would never let their children listen to this song.I have heard the song, seen the dance, and I wondered why this would be an issue. Isn't this a new dance all the kids are doing? And then I realized I sounded like my grandmother. My son has the song on his Ipod and he prides himself on being able to perform the dance without any trouble. All I can hear in the song is "Soulja Boy, Soulja Boy, Work that Soulja Boy." After looking up the "clean" version of the lyrics, they didn't seem so bad to me, compared to some of the things I've heard. However, I am now the mother of a teenager and not an 8-year-old, which does change my perspective a little.
I used to keep a radio in the bathroom to play music while I took a bath, and when my son was also about 8, he would listen to the pop radio station during his bath. One night, I walked into the bathroom to check on him and I heard, "I see you baby, shakin' that ass." I stood there for a minute, in shock, and then asked him what he was singing? "It's a song on the radio, Mom."
I replaced the radio with a CD player after that incident. However, I must be getting lazy or old or both, because I missed the Soulja Boy invasion. In the past, I definitely had to be careful what songs my son heard on the radio while we were in the car. He would ignore every nice thing any song said and find the one curse word in the whole song and yell it out at the top of his lungs.
So what's up (wassup?) with this Soulja Boy dance? Is it really that bad or are the kids just having harmless fun with a new fad? Someone told me that Barney and the kids performed the Soulja Boy dance on the show, but I'm not sure if that's true. But then again, we've outgrown Barney at my house and I didn't even know if he is still on the air.
Do children actually hear the lyrics in these songs or understand them? Do you censor the music you listen to when your children are around?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-02-2008 @ 1:48PM
jae s said...yall some haters music is music. eitha u like it or u dont.if u dont, dont let yo kids listen to duhhhhh.eitha way dey should be smart enough not to repeat the cuss words.most musicians coming out are still young and still have time to learn what rapping really is. yall wasnt talking when tupac and biggie was rapping or salt-pepa. so stay quiet like yall was doin. thank u
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1-18-2008 @ 11:42AM
Amanda said...my two year old daughter most definitely listens to lyrics. one morning we were driving to daycare and on the radio was an advertisement for Korn's tour which inlcuded the phrase "we gotta problem biiiiiiitch" and we heard this right before turning on the street for the daycare and she started parroting that lovely phrase over and over and over. so I warned her not to say it again and I warned her teacher that she might say it so... look out!
when we listen to music in the car I can hear her repeating lyrics. sometimes its cute like when she repeats/ad libs the lyrics from Alicia Keys' song "no one, no one, no ooooooooonnnnneee can get in my way mommmmmyyyyyy" I have some kids music cd's that I keep in my car that are not quite so obnoxious like Jack Johnson, Ralph's world and TMBG.
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1-18-2008 @ 12:14PM
Jennifer said...The issue with this song stems from what the lyrics actually mean. The term "superman" (the lyric is superman dat ho) is seen asdemeaning to women. While the dance is fun, I do have an issue with the lyric and I am not sure how I would feel if someone (dance teacher, etc.) exposed my child to the song without my knowledge. I do moniter what the children around me listen to and will definately moniter what mine listen to.
You can read what the real meaning of "superman" means here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=superman
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1-18-2008 @ 12:17PM
trish said...OH geez, I didn't know that and I was afraid there were some phrases in there I didn't understand.
1-18-2008 @ 12:37PM
Jennifer said...Trish- I love UrbanDictionary.com for that reason. I spend a lot of time with a friend's 12 & 15 year olds (and their 4 year old brother) and I am constantly checking to make sure things are "kosher..." Plus they think I am cool cause I know what they are talking about...hehehe... I am pregnant with my first so I aim to be the hippest mom on the block (or the one noone wants to be around cause she knows all of the lingo and so can learn all of the secrets...)
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1-18-2008 @ 9:11PM
GIA said...OK. I HAVE TO SAY I LOVE ALL MUSIC ESPECIALLY RAP AND R&B. I HAVE A 7 YR. OLD SON, A 4(ALMOST 5) YR. OLD DAUGHTER AND A 2 YR OLD DAUGHTER. THEY LIKE THE SONG. I THINK THERE IS A DIRTY VERSION OF "CRANK THAT" BY SOULJA BOY, IT ONLY HAS A COUPLE OF CURSE WORDS IN IT. BUT A MAJORITY OF THE VERSIONS OF THE SONG ARE CLEAN.
MY KIDS LOVE THAT SONG. THEY DON'T KNOW THE DANCE BUT THEY LOVE THE SONG.
NOW MY SON LOVE THE "HUMPS" SONG BY THE BLACK EYE PEAS. BUT HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE LYRICS ARE REALLY SAYING. HE CAN SING IT BUT HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT. SO WE TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THINGS THAT AREN'T GOOD THAT HTEY WILL REPEAT BUT IT ALL JUST GOOD FUN.
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1-18-2008 @ 1:49PM
Ellen said...The lyrics aren't great, but there's nothing wrong with the dance. It's kind of like a line dance, except for hip-hop.
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1-18-2008 @ 2:54PM
toni said...i have always monitored my son's music. his dad used to let him listen to anything he wanted and i would get so angry. when Braden was 8, my mom took he and a friend to Walmart and let him buy the "clean" Eminem CD. Well...clean only means no dirty words. The innuendo's and unhealthy messages are still there. Within a day of listening to that CD, my son had a BAD attitude. So bad that the CD was taken away and he got a smack in the mouth for talking very badly to me. (one of two smacks in his 11.5 year existence.)
Music NEEDS to be monitored. What I like and what my son (and soon to be newborn) get to listen to are not the same. I think by teenage years the monitoring does slow, or even stop, but hopefully by that point I'll have taught my son enough respect and morals that what he listens to wont have an affect on who he is.
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1-21-2008 @ 7:31PM
Ginny said...I let my 6 & 10 year old daughters listen to it. They listen to top 40 radio stations that play the clean versions. If the do hear swearing they know not to repeat it. They really don't understand the meanings of the songs & I just don't see the harm. I have been a rap fan since 4th grade though.
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