Mainstream Music for a 2 1/2 Year Old

We play pretty much anything that doesn't have swearing or vulgar language. I often play oldies since they're part of my likes and offers my son some variety.

My daughter likes Bob Marley and They Might Be Giants. Great question - this has given me some good ideas!

My daughter sang John Denver's Country Road at that age :). I find lots of 70's stuff is great for lyrics and melodies, they also love JD's "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane..". My 2 1/2 year old goes NUTS in the car for the Carpenter's "Sing" and "Close to You". They also like Elton John, Niel Diamond, Bob Dyan, KC and the Sunshine band (shake your booty), my son does a mean, "Brick, Hooouuse" by the Commodores, and Low Rider by War. They LOVE the cure "Boys Don't Cry" (and other 80's stuff with sort of sparse clear melodies and fun "words"). I also let them listen to contemporary stuff if it's not creepy and bimbonic with bad lyrics. And my kids actually love classical, especially Mozart.

I agree that BNL's SnackTime rocks! I had it for myself well before I had a kid, and now my kiddo loves the album. We listen to a lot of BNL around here, and I just skip over the songs I don't think are appropriate for him, like In My Car. I don't have any of TMBG's kid stuff, but my son has been hearing Mammal and Why Does the Sun Shine, amongst others, for ages now. I'm not a huge Beatles fan myself, so we listen to Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, and lots of other music from that era. Right now his favorite song is probably Sugar, Sugar by The Archies.

my kids were raised on all genres of music....still love variety.

my daycare kids all listen to Top 40 Country at home...so that's what we switch to when we get tired of the kiddie music.

The Beatles for sure. I love Motown music too. Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, etc.

Similar concept... my son has always loved "jumping music".

Which means:
- Greenday
- 3 dog night (jeramiah was a bullfrog...ACTUALLY, the whole Forest Gump Soundtrack works out quite nicely)
- Big n Rich
- Crystal Method
- Martial Classical (think 1812 overature & Carmina Burrana O Fortuna)
- U2
- Pink
- Cage the Elephant
- Cypress Hill
- Bagpipes
- Marilyn Manson
- Carol of the Bells
- Prodigy (specifically Firestarter and Breathe)
- Daft Punk
- Dan leSac
- REM
- Charlie Daniels Band
- Big Bands (Sing Sing Sing is a house fav)
- Kid Punk
((these are made up songs by some friends of ours in the 80's style... anyone can make them up. House fav was "Jump-Jump-Jump...JumpontheBED!!! Don'thityourhead! Jump-Jump-Jump... JumpontheBED (as.long.as.mom.says.its.okay.or.dad'll.be.dead... JumpJumpJump on the beeeeeeeeed! Don'tPaintYourRoomRed!"..... ANY activity can be put to 80's punk as kid-punk, slide on the floor, throw your clothes in the wash... Pick something, repeat it with intensity, and rhyme it with silly things.))

I know it's an eclectic mix, and . My son has allllllllways loved upbeat music he can jump, slide, dance to. He likes quite a bit of other music... but anything he can dance to makes the top of his list.

His favorite 'wind down' music is

- Billi Holiday
- Nina Simone
- Bob Marley
- Desi Gillespie
- Dave Mathews Band
- Pick a Requiem, any Requiem

GLEE songs are another great hit in our house. We don't watch GLEE, but I download a lot of their albums. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" is getting put on automatic replay an awful lot, currently.

Cat Stevens. Gordon Lightfoot. Marc Cohn. Eva Cassidy.

We also really like Caspar Babypants - yes, kid songs, but at least sung by an adult without annoying out-of-tune children singing along. Admittedly, I've played CBP when my son was at school. Once or twice. :)

My guy will be 3 in April and loves classical, Kiss, Michael Jackson, and the Christian station The Fish (which I have on all day) here in SoCal.

Okay, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS ARE MY FAVORITE BAND!!!!

And I have never bothered with their children's CDs. Go full force into it...my girls LOVE them. Some songs are super fun for kids (Particle Man, The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas, Dr. Worm) but they like all the other ones I love, too. Yay!!

I personally wouldn't get my child into listening to band with the name "barenaked ladies"...but that's just me. :) They do play good music...some of it really wouldn't be appropriate, though.

Do you like oldies...50s music? My girls LOVE that...Love Potion No. 9, The Hand Jive, Personality, Dream Lover, Summertime Blues, etc...lots of fun. I could probably run down a list of 200 oldies songs just from that decade they love...not to mention from the 60s and 70s and 80s.

Bob Marley is another suggestion.

My son is 3 1/2 and he really likes the Fresh Beat Band. They are not really "mainstream" but the songs are catchy. He also enjoys whatever dance music is on the radio, especially Lady Gaga.

My 8 yo grandson actually likes classical music. Our family rarely plays it and so I don't know how he came to know it. He also dances to music with a beat. His parents play everything, mainstream, rock, oldies, some country and have since the children were babies. When toddlers anything they could dance to was their favorite. It's still the same for my grandson. He dances to commercials, even. lol

I created a station on Pandora that plays Laurie Berkner (primarily), Lisa Loeb, and when I kept hitting the thumbs up button on the songs I liked, I also got Jack Johnson, songs from the Jersey Boys and other doo-wop, BNL and TMBG. DD's fave song is The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens. I shuffle this station with my Beatles Station and occasionally an Adele and a Maroon 5 station. In the car we listen to music I like but I will change the station if I hear lyrics I feel are too suggestive....

We listen to a pretty wide variety...I'm just really picky about the lyrics. (My aunt used to listen to Jimmy Buffett all the time with my niece when she was really little...until she started singing, "Let's get drunk and screw"). I'm also pretty picky about the...feel (if that conveys the meaning) of a song...I don't want to create an atmosphere that reminds me of a night club...that's just not me (and I don't want my kids feeling comfortable in that kind of atmosphere anyway...). My kids love classical, reggae, rock, country...all kinds of stuff. As far as some specific artists...they do love the beatles...and almost any oldies...five for fighting...bob marley...queen...john denver...josh groban...israel kamakawiwo'ole...they LOVE johnny horton...frank sinatra... they've recently discovered louis armstrong...I LOVE that they love a good variety of music. We don't listen to a ton of todays top hip hop songs...I (and this is totally just personal opinion...you're welcome to disagree)...I just feel like something is lacking there. We usually have pandora on...but I really listen to it if it's a song I've never really heard or don't know the lyrics...and I'll skip the song the second there's something questionable.

They might be giants is great, but even those you should listen to the lyrics. I'm not sure I'd want my dd singing "you and your racist friend" around the school... Just listen to lyrics in the music you like and create mixes of things that are safe. Be careful, even some "old standards" are not great lyrics when you really listen - my darling clementine caught us by surprise. My daughter loves it, but I wish I had never played it for her.

Also, listen to a variety of "kids" cds in the library, you may find some that you really like (putamayo, jazz for kids, etc)

Barenaked Ladies SnackTime is created for kids - my son started listening to it when he was about 3 or so and still loves the album (as do his parents!). Justin Roberts has fun kids songs. Fresh Beats is the new kid friendly stuff my 7 year old likes. Beatles and classic soft rock were always a part of his music. and they have this Kid Rock that takes popular songs and changes the words I think for kids.

yikes Jimmy buffet. He actually has a kids Cd Cheeseburger in paradiise and the Volcano song.

The beatles are another great suggestion, I second that one.

Are looking to avoid the Kidz Bop type cd's? because i kind of like them :)

I would suggest you try your local library they lend out cd's adult and children that you might not find just downloading on your own.

It ate my answer!

I find The Laurie Berkner Band to be pretty palatable. We also have They Might Be Giants (both their regular stuff and their kid music about science, letters and numbers). Weird Al, Dr. Demento, Queen, Rascal Flatts, Beatles, Great Big Sea...anything without words or themes we don't want for a kid. A lot of party music CDs will have things like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, Celebration!, We are Family, RESPECT, etc. DD also likes Party Rock Anthem.

You still want to pick and choose if you're not going for their kid stuff but most artists have at least one song you can play for a kid. My SD, bless her, has a "little sister" playlist. She's pretty mainstream.

My 6-year-old loves Dave Matthews Band, Pink (clean version), old Motown, Jimi Hendrix, I found a really cool Johnny Cash children's album from the 70s that she adores, Michael Jackson and then more pop fare like Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, etc.,