This post will highlight Beatles songs that parents can enjoy with their young kids. The Beatles are a great vehicle to get kids into pop/rock music when it still had a soul. Kids young and old can find Beatles songs they connect with, and it will open their mind to an era of music that was truly transformational. Prior to continuing to sing the virtues of the Beatles we must discuss the changing landscape of music consumption for kids.

Music Consumption Methods

Parents, we have lost some control of our children’s musical consumption. I grew up listening to my parents play the Beatles (amongst other greats), while my kids now live in the world of Alexa giving them greater control of their musical consumption. Ultimately, freedom of expression is what America is made of and developing a love for music at a young age is only going to be a positive in their lives. But what if they never got to listen to some of the iconic music I love.

When I grew up, we did not have “music on demand”. I could not ask Alexa to play a song on demand or jump into Spotify to unleash a playlist. Our house was filled with music my parents liked and hence what I ended up liking as well.

I consumed music from a record player and then we jumped to tapes (briefly) prior to CDs coming into our lives. CDs let you skip around, but both records and tapes made that a bit more difficult (by difficult I mean you had to get up and do something to make it happen). I grew up with records from Donna Summer, Michael Jackson (still remember that Thriller album cover), ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Pointer Sisters, Billy Oceans, Led Zeppelin, and a two record Beatles album called the White Album. We also had the radio on quite a bit. It was either on the classic rock station, oldies station (which at the time was 50-60’s music) or modern pop. To me it was an iconic musical upbringing curated by my parents. Maybe I was lucky in being born in the late 70’s or maybe it is my musical bias coming to light here.

Music on Demand Generation

The music on demand world we now live in has a ton of perks. We get to hear the songs we want in the order that we want with very little effort. I can relive my childhood favorites, while also mixing in music from my college days (read our article on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida). I can live in the past while also catching up on the latest hits to try to stay hip (fat chance).

On the other hand, music on demand has taken some power away from parents. I find my kids asking Alexa to play nonsense. They have found such classics on Alexa like “I Pooped in Santa’s Lap” and “I am a Gummy Bear”. It blows my mind, as somebody had the forethought to make these songs. They knew that kids 10 and under all over America would be terrorizing their parents with this music (while they make residuals from Amazon for these songs). I feel like the Grumpy Old Man now. Shaking my finger at “Baby Shark” while trying to get my kids to turn on “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer” (can you blame me).

Fortunately, I think my wife and I have done a decent job of setting a strong musical base for our kids. Our three kids can typically pick out the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Toots and the Maytals. They often will ask Alexa to “Play the Beatles” and a handful of other songs that they have picked up from Mom and Dad. Our youngest will really redeem the Music on Demand phenomenon by asking Alexa to play “I Love my Mom” or “I Love my Dad” which are songs she has found on Amazon Music that are very listenable (only because of her sweetness and the songs praise for parents).

Music You and Your Kids Can Enjoy Together

Back to the premise of this article. What music can you play with your kids that you will both enjoy. There are unlimited answers to this question. There is such a wide range of music out there and (assuming the lyrics are age appropriate) your kids will start to pick it up if introduced at a young age. That said, we are going to focus on the Beatles as their music is great for kids and will let us parents keep our sanity while listening.

The Beatles and Kids

Almost all the genres of the Beatles music are kid appropriate. I don’t know if I would go crazy with “Revolution 9” or “Helter Skelter” so skip over those. That said, almost any Beatles playlist will work for your kiddos. You can get them into things with some of the bubbly music from their early years and then get a bit more playful with “Rocky Raccoon” and “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”, but get ready to explain why Dan shoots Rocky (note that Rocky does live if this becomes an issue) …

Top Beatles Songs for Kids

Here are my favorite Beatles Songs to introduce to your kids in no particular order.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – “Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies”
Hello, Goodbye
Rocky Raccoon – “Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota, there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon.”
Hey Jude
All You Need is Love
Back in the USSR
Blackbird – “Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life. You were only waiting for this moment to arise.”
Yellow Submarine
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da
Octopus’ Garden
Here Comes the Sun
With a Little Help From my Friends – “Lend my your ears and I will sing a little song and I will try not to sing out of key.”
Twist and Shout

Beat Bugs

Netflix has a kids show called Beat Bugs. The show is about a group of musically inclined bugs living through normal adventures bugs deal with (lawn mowing, anxiety of a doctors visit, for example) while weaving in Beatles songs. If you are going to watch a kids cartoon, give this one a try (3 seasons and 40 episodes available). Pink, Robbie Williams and Eddie Vedder are just some of the stars that make guest (voice) appearances, so check this out.

Each episode is titled by a Beatles Song. The first episode is “Help” and you will get to enjoy episodes like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “With a Little Help From My Friends”.

Thomas the Tank Engine

At some point, your kids may get into Thomas the Tank Engine. If they do, make sure to let them know that Ringo Starr is the narrator for the first two seasons. Ringo is also the Conductor on the show Shining Time Station. Weaving the Beatles into their TV consumption will further gain their buy-in to the Fab Four.

Beatles and Kids in Conclusion

Freedom of choice is often a great thing, but don’t lose your radio to your kids. The Beatles offer a great choice to get you and your kids on the same musical page. Music will mark moments in time for your kids (probably as it has done for you). Create these positive memories through getting your family on the same musical page. Let your kids introduce some of their favorites as well as they mature. The more you are all in sync musically the greater harmony you will have in your household (pun intended). Happy listening!