I knew immediately whose iPod was docked in the stereo. It was like that scene from “Three Men and a Baby,” when Tom Selleck accidentally replaces the party music with Ernie singing “Rubber Duckie.”

Only we went from quiet background music creating the baby shower ambience to the Wiggles jumping and jiving.

Ever noticed that your musical taste takes a dive when you have a child? Or, at least, your chance to listen to anything you really like is limited to snippets of old favorites now playing back-up to commercials. There’s plenty of research that says our kids can benefit from music, but the truth is, I simply can’t imagine a life without it. And I wanted to start Jillian on the path to appreciating the classics early. The Rolling Stones, the Counting Crows . . . she has her favorites . . . unfortunately, she’s still rather fond of “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More, No More.”

So I struck up a compromise. With all the time we spend in the car, I’ve spent a lot of time building up in iPod full of “kids” music that I can handle too.

I started with my own childhood favorite – an oldie but a goodie. Laugh all you want (my husband does), but Anne Murray’s “There’s a Hippo in My Tub” still makes me sing along. It’s not the same as the good old vinyl version, I’ll give you, but there’s still magic when the monkeys and lions go “loop de loop” in “Animal Crackers in My Soup” or Murray takes us on a jaunt into the woods to spy on the “Teddy Bear Picnic.”

Lullabies might be soothing to little ones, but they tend to grate on the nerves of frazzled adults. That’s where the Rockabye Baby! rock collection comes in. The geniuses at baby rock records took the songs from our favorite bands (from Bob Marley to the Pixies), and slowed them down. I scooped up Green Day and Metallica.  To be honest, the punk music seems to be more recognizable – “Basket Case” for babies still makes me think of Billie Joe singing about his neuroses. My hard-core Metallica fan of a husband wasn’t as fond of the second CD as I was. So maybe it won’t turn out the next Lars if you play it in their nursery, but as a “non hard core” fan (I confess I don’t know all the words to “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”) I still thought it rocked.

Talk about your grown up music! Martin, Medeski and Wood have been putting out funky jazz albums since the early ‘90s, the kind that earned them a reputation in the industry for innovation and creativity – plus a rabidly loyal fan base. They turned to kids music this year, and I have to get down on my knees to say thank you. It’s jazzy, it’s funky, and my daughter likes it too! “Let’s Go Everywhere” takes them on adventures in the bathtub (with pirates who don’t take baths), on an airplane, and puts a whole new spin on old classics like “Hickory Dickory Dock” and “Pat a Cake.”

It’s not just music but Spanish vocabulary that Jillian’s been soaking up with her Professor Pocket CDs.  I’m not a big fan of Dora, but these are decidedly less annoying (I know, that doesn’t sound like much of a compliment, but believe me!! If she didn’t have such a cute little monkey for a buddy . . . ). Set up around a central theme – my daughter’s favorite is la playa (the beach) – the CDs follow Professor Pocket and her buddies on a magical adventure in English and Spanish. The language flows back and forth so nearly every word is heard in both tongues, but they manage to avoid being repetitive. It’s in the songs, however, where kids really catch the flavor of the language – they can’t help but sing along.

If you haven’t seen them on Noggin, I’ve got to wonder how you’ve escaped a mere fact of motherhood today. Hot Peas ‘N Butter came out with their fourth album earlier this year, and I now get frequent requests for “Jack-a-Lacka” while we’re shooting down the highway. A hearty mix of Latin and Afro-Caribbean styles, the songs are upbeat without being hyper – a hard line for a lot of children’s musicians to toe. Even the teaching songs – “Different Spokes for Different Folks” promotes bicycle safety and “Aachoo” advises kids to use a tissue when the sneeze – skirt the preachy tone, keeping my daughter dancing in her carseat.

The more traditional “Stardust” by Cher and Gene Klosner is another trip down memory lane for me. It’s two discs of the old-time lullabies that our moms sang way back when. So what makes this album different? Mama on the move Cher, for one. She was sick of synthesized lullaby CDs, so she worked with brother Gene to create this bed-time CD. Cher, my daughter thanks you – her tone-deaf mommy has been replaced by your lilting voice at night!

So moms, what percentage of your iPod has been taken over by the kiddie tunes?

1. laurie Says:
   September 3rd, 2008 at 2:16 am

   We had to have satellite radio installed in both cars and in the house to have kid music 24/7… CD’s are everywhere and not one has a word of ‘mature’ vocabulary! A happy baby makes for happy parents, so I’ll take it (for now!).