Oh, have I got some movin' and groovin' tunes for you and your kids! These 5 YouTube happy songs will be PERFECT for your next kitchen dance party! I can just see it now…your normal sleepy-eyed cereal eaters will be transformed into wide-eyed dance machines! These songs with positive messages have lyrics with family in mind. So read on to find out where you can get your pure confidence-boosting bursts of tuneage for good day vibes!

HOLD UP NOW! You say you're a teacher in the classroom?? These are PERFECT for a brain break or a dance party reward! Check out this Happy YouTube Music Playlist HERE!

Do you have a pre-kindergarten kiddo? Do you know someone who does? Whether you have a 2, 3, or 4-year-old at home…NOW is the time to understand where they are headed! Kindergarten has changed – a LOT. I'm here with 10 years of experience to help you feel confident and READY TO GO! Get your FREE download and get ready to laugh as you learn the behind-the-scenes stuff! Your kindergarten teacher will love you! Trust me!

Songs With Positive Messages

I'm not here to diss Kidz Bop. Nope.

But just for a brief, suspended moment in time – think about the lyrics to those pop tunes. These tunes they are covering, are first popular songs on…wait for it… ADULT radio. I know you know this.

Yes, they clean up the rougher language and there are sweet and extremely talented voices singing them. But honestly, even if it doesn't hurt – does it HELP?

Do those songs that we ALL love – fuel our kids with positive messages they so desperately need these days?

I'm pretty sure I just got some eye-rolls. I think maybe I even eye-rolled at myself.

There are exceptions for sure. “Happy” by Pharrell. “Shake it Off” by TSwift. Classic YouTube happy songs for sure.

Keep reading.

Lyrics With Family In Mind

Before becoming a kindergarten teacher 10 years ago, I worked as a full-time songwriter, backup artist, and session singer…for COUNTRY MUSIC USA. Good ‘ole Nashville, TN, honey! I loved every minute.

BUT...not once in any writer's room, studio, or bar was the question asked, “is this song going to be a good message for kids to sing along to in the car – filling them up with a positive and healthy social-emotional message?”

Nope. Never happened. Not one time. 😉

And I'm not saying it should.

There's a time, a place, and an audience for songs about dirt roads, sweet tea, whiskey, cheatin', leavin', and comin' back again. Trust me, I'm a die-hard Loretta Lynn fan and believe you'd best NOT come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind.

But…hear me out people. I'm not saying anything you don't know – but maybe voicing something that you don't often THINK about. And mayyyyybe we (*gulp) should?

Maybe we could think about how to fill up our kids' minds with empowering messages whenever we get the chance? AND, if possible, why not have those messages be wrapped up in music that's upbeat, fun, and awesome to get your groove on for the WHOLE family? Like in an ultimate playlist for YouTube happy songs?

Win-Win.

Kids songs for kids weren't really a thing when I was growing up.

I grew up pre-Barney. Mister Rogers didn't sing. (Or DID he? Actually, I think he did.)

I was lucky enough to have a mom who was a K-5 music teacher. She taught us sing-along songs on car trips and I find myself singing them in my head to this day. Quirky, funny, songs that kids LOVE.

I also knew every word to the Donna Summer album my sister had. I've just recently re-discovered Donna Summer and have re-fallen in love with it. It's been on constant re-play.

I can't tell you what I ate for lunch but I can tell you every word to Dim All The Lights, On The Radio, Hot stuff, MacArthur park, Last Dance, and Bad Girls.

I walked into school last week with “Bad Girls” still playing on my phone and singing, “Toot! Toot! Awww – Beep! Beep!” but do you know the rest of that song?

Now in my room, the bell hadn't rung yet and my phone was blaring my disco ala Donna – “Ahhhhh….love to love ya, baby!”

Now, there are some, um…guttural ‘enjoyment' sounds…(*head slap emoji) coming from Miss Summer. Out of my phone speaker. LOUD.

The music teacher, Mr. Petrelli, walks by and sticks his head in and says, “Everything, um… OK in here?”
Yep! Why do you ask? SURELY not because it sounds like the EXACT OPPOSITE of what should be coming out of my kindergarten classroom?? HA!

STICK THOSE POSITIVE AFFIRMING LYRICS IN THEIR BRAIN AND ON THEIR HEARTS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

My point? MUSIC IS AWESOME.

I can sing you every word from almost every 80s song – but I can't tell you the state capitals.

I can sing you every line from Grease AND Grease 2 – but I can't tell you where I put my to-do list or what it is I'm supposed to be doing.

So, if music is this magical and mysterious and wonderful thing that attaches lyrics to our brain as if they are made of gorilla glue – why not fill our kids up with positive and empowering messages any chance we can get?

Ok. Let's get to those 5 happy YouTube songs!

5 Happy YouTube Songs

1. Dare To be me

My mom always told me to KEEP SWIMMING IN MY OWN LANE. So easy to say, sometimes so hard to do!

Comparison is indeed the THIEF of all JOY. I still remember the confidence and fearlessness I had as a 3-5-year-old – I also remember the moment I noticed I was the only redhead in my 1st-grade classroom, with a birthmark the size of a large thumbprint on my forehead. My confidence definitely got knocked around a bit.

This song encourages kids (and reminds us adults) to DARE to be exactly who YOU are! Everyone else is already taken. 😉

(And fun fact: It was my first #1 song on Sirius XM Kids Place Live – and also featured on Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast! : Season 5 | Holiday Bonus | “Druid Hills” )

2. DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO

The idea for this song started in my kindergarten classroom.

I had been obsessed with seeing Mount Rushmore for a long time. Every kindergarten class heard about it. (I DID finally make my way there last year – see proof here!)

One day I asked them to tell me what they wanted to do more than anything – NO LIMITS. One little girl said, “I wanna climb Mount Rushmore so I can come back and tell you all about it!” The dreams and things that poured out of them after that was pure magic.

Dream Big. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. Prove them wrong. (Says the kindergarten teacher who once had a career in country music and then remembered she had always wanted to work on Sesame Street, so she mashed up both careers to now write and perform kids' music. 😉 )

3. WHAT I'M FEELIN'

This song was also inspired by my kindergartners.

Devastating tornado ripping through our beloved community in East Nashville? CHECK.

Pandemic and Virtual School and first day in kindergarten on a laptop? CHECK.

All the things in between like when the world was seemingly running out of toilet paper, not seeing friends, anger and violence on the nightly news? CHECK.

Teaching kids that it's okay to feel what they are feeling is SO IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW MORE THAN EVER. Teaching kids to TALK ABOUT IT is SO IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW MORE THAN EVER.

However – I think oftentimes our approach feels too heavy to them – which can oftentimes have the opposite effect. I've seen the anxiety in even kindergarten kids rise over the past couple of years. This song feeds those important messages that it's ok to feel your feelings – in a FUN, dance-worthy way.

If you want to read more about this topic – you might like this post!

4. GOOD DAY

For good day vibes – you're in the right place!

I dare you to put this song on and keep your feet still. Go now and TRY. If you had any doubts that I had a former career in country music, this song will quickly change your mind. Complete with a Minnie Pearl reference from the great, Grand Ole Opry days!

I got the best message from a mom – she shared that as a family, they listen to this song EVERY MORNING. Those kids bounce down the halls smiling and telling everyone they see to have a GOOD DAY!

Before I have a new song come out, I'll give it a test run with my current kindergarten kids. This past spring I played GOOD DAY for them. One of my favorite quotes was, “I think I like this one better than the one I liked bestest before but now this one is my favorite and will you please send it to my mom so we can have a dance party?” 🙂

5. COCONUT

This one is for all my fellow coconuts out there! You know who you are!

The ones who dance like Elaine on Seinfeld or who run like Phoebe on Friends – COCONUTS!

And to be honest…everybody is a little bit coconuts these days! Just let loose, crank it up, and break out those awkward moves like everybody's watching!

Happy YouTube Music – Fun for the whole family

So, pick up that spatula and turn it into a microphone. Grab that dish towel and give it a twirl. Shake and stir up those Saturday morning pancakes while your kids watch you living it up and letting go WITH THEM. Oh, and those songs with positive messages? It's like making sure they get enough vegetables! You know they are so good for them, and when they're fixed up right they'll even start to choose them on their own. Try it.

Give this playlist a listen, and comment below to tell me which is your favorite! And, I'd love to know – do you listen to music with your kids most in the kitchen, car, or somewhere else?

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