No More Belle in the Car Please!

Posted on 04 25, 2006 under The Manual by Noodad | Comments

We all have our reasons. You want to keep your kid up so that they don"t spoil their nap. You need to call into work and you can"t have a whiney kid in the background. Or maybe your kid is just a raving lunatic and you will do anything to keep them quiet. These are all valid reasons to play your kid"s music in the car. But there"s only so much Sesame Street, Wiggles, and Disney songs you can handle.

I"m a big music lover. With over 10,000 albums in my collection I have tons of songs to choose from. Of course, this is a collection of musical favorites that I have amassed over 30 some years. I have favorites, and I have not-so-favorites. But most importantly, variety is what I like.

Variety is not in the little kid dictionary. And it"s no surprise either—kids like to sing along to what they are listening to, just like you and I, and they simply don"t have the vast history of music listening that you do. They will want to hear the same song over and over and over again. My daughter (on her Princess kick) always wants to hear "Belle" from the Beauty & the Beast soundtrack. We hear it at home. We here it in the car. She sings it in the bath. She sings it at the dinner table. It"s tough to resist because she is so cute when she sings along and I want to keep her happy. But when you find yourself singing all the words and contemplating ripping it to your iPod, you got issues.

Another thing to remember is your kids do not have the life experiences that you do, to couple with the feeling you get when you hear the songs. When "Take on me" by A-Ha comes on the radio, I am transported to my childhood house, sitting in my bedroom, sorting baseball cards and trying to find the "83 Fleer "Black and Blue" combo (Vida Blue and Bud Black). My kid, on the other hand, is transported nowhere, hearing only the words, "blah blah blah blah blah" and yelling for "Belle."

My wife and I cut deals with our daughter. "You can either hear your music to the [destination here] or on the way home. We will listen to Mommy and Daddy"s music the other way." Normally my daughter says she wants to hear her music on the way. Of course, on the way home, that manipulative devil throws a fit to hear her music on the way home. But my wife and I stay firm, we keep our music on, she cries herself to sleep, and then ruins her nap. But boy does "Sweet Child O" Mine" sound awesome (even over the screaming).

What do you Noodads do? Are you stuck in the "whatever it takes to keep your kid happy in the car" rut? Or do you take another path?

P.S. Do you remember that Vida Blue/Bud Black combo in the 83 Fleer set? Not as good as the 82 Fleer Pete and Re-Pete card but still cool right?

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    When they start behaving badly. I don\'t give them whatever it is they want to make them quiet down, I take more away. I have 2 girls and you are so right, all I ever want to do it give them everything they want, but I\'m not going to reward bad behavior.
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    My little guy is only 7 months, but whatever experience I have comes from my 4 year old niece and nephew (twins).

    Your problem was that you let her hear her music on the way there. Kids of that age have absolutely no ability to plan/think ahead. They want instant gratification, and they will agree and say whatever they want to get it. I would rather have put up with the fit on the way there (depends on where you were going), and then listen to her music on the way back. My sister-in-law tries to \"negotiate\" with her children, but the wily little minxes will say whatever they want to get the instant fix of getting what they want. Later on when you tell them of your verbal \"contract\", they are like...\"huh? did I say that? well thats in the past, and all that I care about is the now\".

    be aware of this \"in the now\" thinking framework of young children and try to give them a balance of gratification and understanding reciprocity.
 

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