Negative Impacts of Loud Rap Music on the Preschool Child

Volume

• Music of any kind that is played continuously at high volume is hard on the listeners' hearing, regardless of their age. Listening to a loud sound of any kind, including Mozart, can damage the tiny hair cells inside your preschoolers ears, according to "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss," an article from the National Institute on Deafness. Once these hair cells, which assist hearing, are damaged, they do not grow back. Using music to block out unwanted environmental sounds, such as construction or someone running lawn care equipment might mean turning up the volume, which adds to the noise problem, rather than eliminating it.

Lifestyle

• According to a 2008 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, titled "Researcher cites negative influences of hip-hop," hip-hop promotes a street-gang life. Many of the songs have lyrics that are denigrating to women and that promote an image of men using guns and knives, and being ready to fight. Some of them promote drug use, and refer to the business of buying and selling drugs. Others refer to explicit sex acts and prostitution, using the rough language to describe relations between adults.

Language

• Between birth and age 5, preschool children are absorbing words from adults, their friends and the media. Your preschooler might not understand what a "ho" is, but the words used in his favorite, fast-paced rap song are imprinted in his formative brain. It could trigger a call from a preschool teacher if your child uses some of the language from the song in conversation or play. Preschool arguments can degenerate into name-calling, and rap music can supply a lot of mean names to call others.

Not All Rap is Bad

• If your child loves the bouncy rhythm of rap or enjoys the way some of the songs tell a story, you can provide age-appropriate music that still contains those elements. Joshua Glenn, author of "Mommy, What's a Ho," says some hip-hop artists won't make your child's preschool teacher wince when your kid tries to sing their lyrics at school. He lists titles such as "Tennessee" by Arrested Development. Commonsense Media also has a list of "clean" hip-hop, including "Stereo Hearts" from the album "Gym Class Heroes." By creating a selected pick list of "clean" rap, and playing it at a reasonable volume, your child can get the energy and feel of rap without hearing loss or an introduction to an inappropriate lifestyle.