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Hannah Cooper

Ms. Gardner

Hon English/Per 4

9 May 2017

Music: Parent Permission and a Childs Choice

People frequently listen to popular songs on the radio in their cars on the way to work, on

their way to school, at home after a long day but these songs often carry questionable

messages. In society today, songs laced with violent, hateful, sexual, racist or drug related lyrics

have started to become accepted. People will even embrace the music if it has a catchy tune.

Children becoming familiar with explicit lyrics commonly heard on the radio will grow up to be

accepting of the messages these songs carry. The First Amendment grants the right to freedom of

speech, and Parental Advisory stickers are not required by law. With a wide selection of music at

easy access, children should be taught from a young age to make the right choices, establish their

morals, and positively affect their perspectives as future adults and members of society.

Many people believe that music is simply the childs choice to make, and the parent does

not have to interfere. Others may say that children will not even pay attention to the lyrics and

that they will not be greatly impacted by the messages, or even understand them. For example,

Deena Weinstein, a professor at DePaul University, studied various types of metal and found that

young listeners care more about the appearance and sound of a band than the lyrics themselves

(Gougis). Some believe the little understanding listeners may have would only pertain to their

own life experiences: In refuting concerns about the effect of lyrics, some have argued that

children and adolescents use music only for entertainment, that little or no attention is paid to the

words, and if any attention is given, understanding tends to be limited and related to the
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experiences lived by the listener. (Pediatrics). Overall, some people believe lyrics will not have

an effect on children and their present or future beliefs. They think that children will pay

attention to the beat of a song and nothing more. In point of fact, people believe children may not

understand or fully comprehend the messages in explicit lyrics. However, the habits and beliefs

people pick up and accept as children greatly influence their adult life.

Yes, it is true some themes and lyrics may beyond the comprehension of young children.

Nonetheless, they should still avoid it the best they can because as they surround themselves with

it, with time they will have familiarized themselves with the music. They will have become

accepting of it as part of their life and recognize the messages as common themes to be taken

lightly. The early years of a persons life directly influence them into their adult life. The

presence of parental influence and guidance through childhood will have a positive impact on the

childs future (Sirota). Lessons on the difference between what is right and wrong will be

important to the child in the future; a parent telling a child certain types of lyrics to a song are

bad will give the child a positive push in the right direction. Children's experiences at home, the

environment around them, and their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills influence

their developing sense of right vs. wrong (Oswalt). A child will understand the concept of what is

right before fully understanding what the deeper meaning of the right/wrong is: Most young

children can understand the difference between "good" and "bad" behavior, and this

understanding provides the basis for more complicated moral thinking in the future (Oswalt). If

children are constantly becoming comfortable with messages in a song, the singers will teach

them that drugs are acceptable and okay without them being aware of that influence. Based on

the research that interactions and lessons in early years have the biggest impact on later years, it

is especially important that right and wrong is taught earlier on by parents/guardians instead of a
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child being influenced by society later on. If you dont stand for something, youll fall for

anything. Therefore, it is important that children become familiar with positive themes and stay

away from music that could negatively affect their future thought process and morals.

Furthermore, a childs mind accepts teachings and morals quickly. Children learn a lot

quicker than adults. David Turner, a childrens sports coach, suggests thinking of an adults mind

as designed to perform and a childs mind as designed to learn. Turner also gives a more

scientific reason: ... in adults the prefrontal cortex of the brain, where working memory is

stored, is more developed than in children. Lessons taught to young children are picked up a lot

quicker than in later life, and they stick around longer. As a result of this, lessons taught by

society through lyrics (good and bad) will stick with children through their teen and adult life.

Because the minds of children are so sensitive to influence and so quick to learn new things, they

should be taught to avoid explicit music with detrimental messages.

Ultimately, harmful music should be avoided because of the degrading beliefs and

perspectives that have the potential to be taken on by children as adults. On an experiment with

childhood environmental influence to adult urban and community forest sensitivities, it was

proved that child influence impacts an adult perspective (Lohr and Pearson-Mims). Adults were

asked about their childhood experiences with nature and their current understanding and

perspective on urban trees, and a connection was found between childhood experience and adult

perspective. Therefore, the influence of music on children will have an effect and connection to

their adult perspective on music and themes referenced in music. Overall, children should listen

to music that will positively affect their adult perspective and that will not have a bad influence

on their future.
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In conclusion, children should be taught from a young age to avoid music with explicit

lyrics and bad themes. The children of today are the adults of tomorrow, they will be important

members of society, and should be raised to prepare them for this role. Good morals and positive

opinions will be important to their future. As a parent or young adult, it is important that your

influence on children inspires them to become role models rather than sticking with societys

views.

Citations

Boyd, Alesha W. "Families Look to Tune Out Explicit Lyrics in Music." Asbury
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Park Press, 01 Apr, 2013, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Brownback, Sam. "The Melodies of Mayhem." Policy Review, 1998, pp.

38-41, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Dell'Antonia, K. J. "Setting Limits: How do we Decide what Children See, Hear, Read

and.." SIRS Issues Researcher, 26 Oct, 2015, https://sks.sirs.com.

Gougis, Michael. "Kids Addicted to Metal? Don't Fret." Gazette (Montreal,

Canada), 23 Jul, 2002, pp. p. D9, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Gross, Dr. Gail. The Power of Parental Influence in Child Development. The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Aug. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-power-of-

parental-influence-in-child-development_us_57a6a8b5e4b0c94bd3c9a60a.

Lohr, Virginia I. Influence of Childhood Expereinces on Adult Sensitivity to Trees - Overview.

Human Issues in Horticulture Research, Department of Horticulture and Landscape

Architecture, public.wsu.edu/~lohr/hih/nucfac/prop.htm.

Media, Council on Communications and. Impact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on

Children and Youth. Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2009,

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488.

Oswalt, Angela. Early Childhood Moral Development. Mental Help Early Childhood Moral

Development Comments, Sober Media Group, 16 Jan. 2008,

www.mentalhelp.net/articles/early-childhood-moral-development/.

Sirota, Marcia. The Connection Between Childhood Experiences And Adult Problems. The

Huffington Post, The Huffington Post, 17 Feb. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.ca/marcia-

sirota/the-connection-between-childhood-experiences_b_9212340.html.

Turner, David. How Do Kids Learn Faster than Adults? Sports Coach UK, Sports Coach UK,
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www.sportscoachuk.org/blog/how-do-kids-learn-faster-adults.