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This past weekend, Maggie (our National Sales Director) and I rocked it out at a concert. A Family Pop Concert, that is.
With our various toddlers in tow—Ally (almost 3), Will (4) and Kate (2)—we made our way to the glorious new arts centre at St. Michael’s College School to see Marlowe & the Mix. We’d had the opportunity to enjoy her pop songs on her demo CD the week before (the kids had them close to memorized by the time the concert date arrived), so there was a lot of anticipation about seeing Marlowe and her band live.
A family-friendly singer with kids of her own, Marlowe describes herself as somewhere between the The Wiggles and Britney Spears (the G-rated version) and her catchy dance tunes are definitely a big step up from Wheels on the Bus or Itsy Bitsy Spider.
To say the kids loved it is an understatement.
Maggie’s daughter Kate did a dash up the stairs and across the stage, while Will showed off his breakdancing moves. Ally was glued front and centre to the stage lip, bopping away to Marlowe’s music. All the kids were enthusiastically dancing along in the toddler equivalent of a mini-mosh pit. Aside from her own songs, Marlowe and the band also performed a Beatles medley and a Michael Jackson number (for us audience members whose ages were in the two-digit category—although the kids loved them, too).
On a mom-note, we agreed that when Marlowe sings “Life is a Roller Coaster”, as a parent, we know she gets it.
Thanks, Marlowe & the Mix! To find out more, go to www.marloweandthemix.com.
There is no denying my sister and I are simpletons. We put it out there time and time again. We increasingly feel challenged by our children, and have moments when parenting can be a bit tricky. Sometimes we just don’t know what to say or how to handle situations. I think that is why we developed the habit of talking to our kiddles in Top 40 Hits. You can only say ‘no’ so many times and sometimes it just feels good to say things in song. Plus, if you really think about it, we are giving our kids a lesson in culture, expanding their musical prowess.
On any given day you can hear me saying, “Hey, Nate dog, where’s G-Child?” That might be why my kids spend a lot of time looking confused and not knowing what is going on. While I should address my children in a more mature manner, throwing a lyric at them when they are giving me some attitude is too much fun. It confuses them, it shows them that, ‘Guess what? I know more than you.’
If a child is giving you the stink eye, why not say: “Hey I see what you’re doing there: Vogue, strike a pose”.
When they are hanging off of you, jungle gym style, a quick hammer-time with “Can’t touch this” comes in handy.
When my daughter acts like a whiny mofo, I serenade her with “Don’t cry for me Argentina”.
If my kids won’t cooperate while I am trying to get out the door, a simple “Hey hey, you you, get into my car.” Not only is it getting the message across, but Billy Ocean really lifts the mood.
Here are some big hits and how they come in handy:
Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” – When your child needs to learn something new or directions with a task, you throw this at them.
Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around” – If your child is going down the wrong path, spazzing and losing their sh*t, they need to turn their beat around, and fast.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Don’t Do Me Like That” – When your child forgets their manners and is trying to humiliate you.
Erasure’s “Respect” – this one is easy, they have a bit of a ‘tude and are trying to tough-talk you, try: “Oh baby please, give a little respect, to me.”
The Ting Tings “That’s Not My Name” – This one is obvious. When they have said Mom more times than you can count, you need to sing this out loud.
It is totally reasonable to modify a lyric here and there, if need be. For instance, if your child has an accident of some sort, Human League’s “Human” comes in handy when changed to “you’re only human, of flesh and blood, you’re made.”
When my children finish cleaning up and ask if it is a job well done, I throw some Cyndi at them: “It’s good enough, for me, it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough, good enough for me, yayayayayaaaa.” I use this song so much that I now just say, “Dude, it’s Goonies”, and the children get it.
Give it a try. It’s liberating.
We ran a fun poll the last few weeks about love. We asked our readers what love song best described their marriage? Here were the choices:
We’re happy to report that our readers by and large seem to be happy in their marriages with only 10% stating that they can’t get no satisfaction and 3% saying it was all a Rush, Rush (I’m taking the rush, rush thing to be a negative—not a positive).
A truly, madly and deeply in love 33% is pretty high when you consider that roughly 50% of marriages end in divorce these days, and then a whopping 40% say that love will keep them together.
Let’s hope that the Captain and Tennille are right. I think it’s fair to say that SavvyMoms have a lot of love, are happily married and listen to some pretty cheesy music!
Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your beloved and the rest of your friends and family.
Rock on, young lovers.
Comments
Meg and I highly recommend incorporating some holiday tunes——