Kid-Friendly Music

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Spice Girls!?

March 1999

My 8-year-old is obsessed with the Spice Girls! They seem too sexy for a child this age but I haven't really checked into them much. Does anybody know anything about the Spice Girls?

Spice girls - they are totally harmless. Don't be put off by their over-the-top costumes - they are more cartoon than real. Their movie is in video stores, it's silly but sweet. You could rent it and check them out for yourself.

The Spice Girls invaded our home last year and my daughter (who is now 6) was very much into them, their music, their movie, etc. etc. We decided they were harmless enough not to make a fuss about, although I make it clear to her that I don't much like their clothes. The worst thing about them is their sexy attire and the way the young girls like to copy them. Two of them have now had babies, and my guess is we won't be seeing a lot more of them. And, as with all these things, the infatuation passes and moves on to something else - now my daughter is imitating Britney Spears (sp?) and Lauryn Hill. Still sexy, but at least the music is better. Unless you want to ban all modern culture from your home, you may want to think about taking as laid back an approach as you can manage, and keep your sense of humor.

I don't think they're bad. My kids (now seven and nine) went through a phase about a year ago where they loved them, too. They're actually pretty innocuous. And the movie is very very silly. At first my husband and I were horrified, but then we gave up, and some of their songs are rather catchy (although I can't remember any anymore -- so maybe not memorable.) I don't know -- I think if you make a big stink, your kids won't understand why, and if you let them go ahead and listen to them they will for a while, and then they won't, and a five year old will probably not catch any double entre, anyway. Perhaps I am not concerned enough, but it seemed to me that they were not soooo bad. Although we know they are completely phoney, I think my daughters also liked the fact that they are women, since most pop singers are not, and that's not a bad thing. At the same time, my kids also got interested in early Beatles music. This was infinitely more palatable to their parents.

all my 5 kids (boys and girls) are into the spice girls, and have been for quite a while. at first i had a knee-jerk reaction to them, but if you can stand to listen to the lyrics--unavoidable at my house--the words to their songs are mostly about self respect and friendship--some of them have sexual overtones, but it's pretty tame considering what else is out there. maybe i'm naive, but i think that they're pretty harmless.

About those Spice Girls. Last year it was Spice Girl Mania at my house. My daughters, 8 & 10, were living and breathing Spice Girls. I intially had mixed feelings about the overt sexuality combined with an fascination with the girl power theme. I decided there was much worse in the world (and soon learned that would be when I had to explain presidential oral sex to my youngest). We even went to their concert at Shorline (imagine chaperoning a field trip with 17,000 young girls!.). Are they good role models. Probably not - from an adult point of view. But viewed from the eyes of a young girl I could see how their girl power theme was enticing and we all actually enjoyed the music and the movie, while not a Hard Days Night, was entertaining! The worst side-effect was how much allowance was spent of Spice Girl lollipops! The good news for you is that I think the Spice Girls, as an active musical group, are pretty much defunct. Posh and Ginger are now Spice Mothers. Only the merchandizing continues! My experience is that these fads come and go and the less you object the quicker it goes. If I thought it was something truly harmful I would probably be more heavy-handed. Our Spice Girl CDs are now gathering dust and my girls moved on to $20.00 yoyos (didn't these things used to cost $1.00?)