Tuesday, January 6, 2009

What to do when baby likes rap?

I like to think that Shelby and I are reasonable parents. We spend a lot of time with Eli. We study parenting books and skim new parent websites. These books and websites all insist that you expose your baby to all types of music and activity to identify their likes and dislikes. True to this advice, I've often put my music library on shuffle and let Eli listen. About two weeks ago, our friend Sue noticed that Eli seemed to respond most positively to...how should I put this...gangsta rap. 

I thought this was coincidental and laughed it off at the time. Now I'm not so sure, and I'm a bit worried that 'ho' may be Eli's first word. Tonight when Shelby left us home alone while she played soccer, I read Eli two books. He fussed anxiously near the end of the second one. I played a little Rolling Stones. The fuss descended into a near-tantrum. I then changed the music to the latest album by mash up artist Girl Talk. The album is essentially rap and R&B vocals overlaid on pop melodies. Almost immediately, Eli smiled. And cooed. And settled into an alert, yet playful mood. At first, I thought this couldn't possibly last. But it did...he stayed in my arms listening to the CD for more than an hour (by the way, my arms are killing me).

Now, happy Eli = good. Eli quoting NWA = bad. While I know that there is no cognition of what lyrics mean to Eli yet, do we really want to have our toddler swearing at day care? Or is that just the price we pay to keep him happy, and we'll deal with the sheepish explanations to his teachers and other parents when the time comes?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ha, that is hilarious. Note to self- never let Lily hang out with your gangsta son. Hopefully I won't see any pictures of him with a baby do-rag :)