How to bond with your kids and be cool at the Same Time

I grew up middle class and happy. We had a TV which we were only allowed to turn on once a week to watch either the Brady Bunch or My Three sons. My dad had a state of the art Sony reel to reel which we were not even allowed to touch. We also had a record player with a needle so delicate that it would scratch the vinyl if you even moved so we had to sit very still. Until this day I can't dance. When I hear great music, I just sit very still and listen – scarred from early technology.

I have such strong memories of those first few albums. Not just the music but the memory of experiencing the excitement with my family. Fighting over favorites, whose band was cooler, which song on the album was the best. It was great family time which I'll never forget.

When I was about eight my dad bought home Help by the Beatles. What a great first album, it has everything, great songs like Yesterday and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. That was the start of a lifelong obsession with good music that I now share with my kids. We had a Jonny Cash Album that was a real eye opener - Boy named Sue etc . He was a wild man and a great introduction into Country Music.

As we grew older we started hanging out with the other kids in the street – we each had to choose a band to support and having little knowledge of the world of rock, I chose deep purple because I liked thecolour purple. My brother was a Zoot fan and my friend was into the Stones. My dad was into Burt Bacharach, but he wasn't allowed to hang out with us.

Those were great times, and it might have continued that way forever if not for the dark clouds of disco...but that's another story.

Now I'm all grown up with kids, and if I had a job, we would be middle class too. When they were little, I sat them down on the couch and forced them to listen to Dark Side of the Moon. The Beatles of course form a central part of their syllabus as do some of the great Jazz musicians, also bands like Led Zeppelin and Elton John, the Beach Boys and Bowie. They love it all. My theory is that if its good, really good, it will always be good and we'll always appreciate it.

As a family we also watch TV and movies together and that's great fun too. Yet it's not the same, there's something special about the music. With TV we all sit around like zombies, but with the music there's a buzz, an excitement, its interactive and its fun. We don't just listen to the old stuff, three teenage daughters bring plenty of new music to listen to and believe me, there are plenty of great musicians like Amy Winehouse, Elliot Smith and Kanye West. There's always something new to experience

The hard thing is to do it together as a family because it's something kids usually do with their friends and it's not so cool to hang out with your parents. Still if the music is good, its good and they get it and we have fun.

With today's technology there's no excuse for listening to bad music. Computer download sites give us a huge choice - every style and every artist. We don’t even have to listens to whole albums we can pick and chose our favorite songs. Don't forget to use good speakers and download from a reputable site like this one where you can download free music.

by Gavi Eskin