When I was a kid, there used to be a commercial at 7pm every night that said, “It’s 7:00, did you hug your kids tonight.� Funny thing, I never did get a hug from my parents then. Oh well, that’s no the point of my post. Any way, now that we are living in the iPod age (I don’t have one), I thought I’d write something quick about it and then send you over to Bob Kauflin who has a very interesting take on iPods and kids.

My kids are still too young to appreciate iPods. But when they are old enough, I am sure they will want one. Most of us would probably have no problem with our kids listening to their iPods. But shouldn’t we at all consider the ramifications, even if at the end of the day, we do get them one? Shouldn’t we at the least be intentional about such things? When you think about it, kids will probably spend more time listening to iPods than listening to their parents’ voices. When I was a child, I often listened to a boom box that I carried on my shoulder (I know, so 70s). The thing about the boom box was that everyone could hear the music. They knew what you were listening to, and they could even tell you to lower the volume or turn it off. No longer with the iPod, music is now completely individual.

Also, music is unlimited with the iPod. It can play for hours upon hours. So bye bye conversations with the family, hello music that now controls the heart of your child. This is the future for us parents of young children. Unless we are intentional about even the giving of an iPod and its music, we must first be raising our child in the Gospel.

The one good thing I can say is that when I was a kid, the alternative to rock was Sandi Patti, Steve Green, Keith Green, and Petra. In other words, my choices were often out of touch with my musical taste and extremely limited. Today, Christian music flows with interesting, catchy, and modern worship music. Hopefully, my kids will love worship of Christ and will choose music that will cause them to savor Christ.

I want to refer you to Bob Kauflin’s post as well on the iPod. It is very interesting. He gives these pointers to parents:

* Make sure your kids know that owning an iPod, or any music storage device, is a privilege to be earned, not a right to be demanded.
* Set limits on usage for your kids. Help them keep track of how much music they’re actually listening to.
* Don’t allow the car to become a personal iPod refuge. Let kids use it for portions of long trips, but encourage conversation and interaction at other times.
* Know what’s on your child’s iPod. It’s usually what’s in their iTunes library. Check out lyrics, lifestyles, and websites of artists together.
* Listen to music as a family.
* If you’re musically gifted, put your iPods away for one evening a week, and make your own music together. You might be surprised how good you actually sound.