Music for our Children

I have been searching and searching for the perfect present for G and W...and I found it!

G and W are the little people I've been babysitting over the past year (a little less for W since she's only 11 months). W is a baby and therefore easy to please, but G is older and knows what he likes. He is also rarely found wanting. It's hard enough to find something for the person who has everything. But what do you get the picky and potentially cranky toddler who has everything?

G and I share a joy in music. After searching my brain for all my favorite kid's music, I remembered the best and most timeless was on the first CD I ever owned called "For Our Children" or "Every Child Deserves a Lifetime." It was released by Disney in 1991 as a fundraiser for a pediatric AIDs foundation.

Just check out the playlist. Then tell me if there is any children's CD that is cooler or with artists whose work is more timeless.

1. Give a Little Love - Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers
2. This Old Man - Bob Dylan
3. Cushie Butterfield - Sting
4. Mary Had a Little Lamb - Paul McCartney
5. Ballad of Davy Crockett - Stephen Bishop
6. Itsy Bitsy Spider - Little Richard
7. Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips - Bruce Springsteen
8. Country Feelin's - Brian Wilson
9. Blueberry Pie - Bette Midler
10. Pacifier - Elton John
11. Getting to Know You - James Taylor
12. Autumn to May - Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
13. Child of Mine - Carole King
14. Tell Me Why - Pat Benatar
15. Medley of Rhymes - Debbie Gibson
16. Blanket for a Sail - Harry Nilsson
17. Good Night, My Love (Pleasant Dreams) - Paula Abdul
18. Gartan Mother's Lullaby - Meryl Streep
19. Golden Slumbers - Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes
20. Child Is Born - Barbra Streisand

There are versions of the CD floating around on Amazon and iTunes, but now it is also available in a 10th Anniversay edition that was released back in 2000. Somehow having an anniversary edition that is identical to the first CD translates into uber expensive. There has also been a second edition created in more recent years called "For Our Children Too." Only the anniversary edition has all of the exact songs from the original, i.e. the newer ones don't have James Taylor's "Getting to Know You."

A couple of years ago when my parents moved, I found my copy of this CD stashed away in the old house. My brother and I promptly put it in the player and became obsessed with it again. I have a fond memory of Bryan and I sitting in our car in the parking lot before a YSA activity jamming to these kids' tunes. Yes, grown adults can enjoy this music too--it's that great. I think G will love it and I can already imagine us dancing around to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips."

beck