My toddler is only just over 2 and yet I am obsessed with enticing her to do new things by tag-lining any of my suggestions with "Are you you big kid?" For some reason, I think this is an extremely compelling question for her. And of course, most of the time I am wrong. She does what she wants often with her own weird two-year-old logic that I will never understand. But lately I am impressed with just how many "big-kid" things she likes (she has my weakness for chocolate).
I am of the view that much of what we value and admire in our culture - for beauty and play and enjoyment for example - does not need to be kid-i-fied in order to sell it to our children. Music is also often re-made for children, with terrible results. Let them love Mozart as it is, for the same reason we do. There are some notable exceptions: Rockabyebaby and Classical Kids.
Classical Kids produced the timeless Mr. Bach Comes to Call, Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery and my personal favorite, Mozart's Magical Fantasy based on the Magic Flute. These treasures are the best example of what might be considered 'adult' music re-made for children, and the great thing is that adults love it too! The birdcatcher in the Magic Flute is the timid Papageno and kids just love him! "I want my Papageno" can be heard many times throughout the day in our house. The trick is that these musical stories keep in tact what is so appealing to adults- the music!
Things of beauty seem to capture the imagination of children , even when they involve suffering or hurt. I don't want to be too quick to make things kid-friendly. So much of what we love is friendly for all already.
Things of beauty seem to capture the imagination of children , even when they involve suffering or hurt. I don't want to be too quick to make things kid-friendly. So much of what we love is friendly for all already.