An Amazing Thing Happens When Kids Listen To The Radio
My 7 Year Old Loves The Radio
There I was in my living room yesterday watching a sports talk show when I heard this incessant humming coming from the other room. Was it Tinitus? Possibly, I am old. But no it wasn’t Tinitus, it was my 7 year old son. He was in our sun room playing with his T-Rex and he was humming a song. What song was it?
It was: Last Night by Morgan Wallen.
Should I have been concerned that my innocent child was listening to a song that is about a man and woman having one last night of debauchery and drinking? One that openly has the S-word in it several times? No, because I knew he had heard the radio edit of it while listening to my show every weekday from 6-10am on Country 102.5 in Boston.
Because I Love You
I asked him “Hey, why are you humming that song?” and he responded in his fully manipulative sweet way: “Because I love you.” My heart and eyes swelled up. I said “Oh so you heard that on my show? Do you like listening to my show?” He thought for a moment and said “It’s ok.”
Kids.
An Amazing Thing Happens When Kids Listen To The Radio
Here’s the thing though, my kid isn’t alone in listening to the radio. We hear (usually angrily) all the time from parents who are listening with their kids in the car. Often that involves angry texts or emails telling us that their kids picked up a dirty word from us, or the name of an intimate position. But other times it’s people telling us that their kids love the show and want a shout out. Which we’re always happy to do.
I found this post from a reddit forum this past week from a user who claimed because his iPhone had died that he and his daughter’s girl scout troop were “forced” to listen to the radio. It ended up being a really fun experience where the kids were a little upset at the idea that you can’t skip songs, but were blown away by the DJ’s (hello!) and the commercials. That this was a live experience.
If you read the post you’ll see other users talking about how their kids listen to the radio and have a similar experience. Kids don’t hate it, they are generally amazed at the lack of control the user has, but for the most part love that there’s another person on the other end listening to the music with them and love that the person lives in their community.
The amazing thing is that with the overwhelming amount of choice that kids have they love the uniqueness that radio still brings to their car ride. The reason I love this medium is the same reason they do. You don’t feel alone. There is someone else on the other side. And in an era of increasing loneliness that’s not just thrilling, it’s important.
