Kinderling radio host Shevonne Hunt with her children Darcy and Arlo like to dance to her favourite songs together. Picture: Toby Zerna

There is a growing music market which caters for parents who still want to enjoy live music and share an age-appropriate soundtrack with their children that isn’t all songs about teddy bears and broccoli.

Fairgrounds Festival has set up Little Fairgrounds within the alternative music event on the NSW south coast in December, Dress Up Attack! programs bands to appeal to big and little kids while Kinderling Radio is saving the sanity of mums and dads who can only take so many The Wiggles or Play School songs in one day.

The Avalanches are on high rotation on Kinderling Radio. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied

Kinderling launched 15 months ago as an independent online and digital station with many staffers making the leap from the alternative airwaves of FBi.

Managing director Evan Kaldor said the 24-hour station programs music around family routines, soothing tunes for when children are most likely to be cranky or sleeping and upbeat numbers for energetic play times.

There are even songs designed to distract fussy eaters, while the ambient Sleepy Soundtrack is now attracting a cult audience of electronic fans because it often features works by Brian Eno or Max Richter.

“We have been getting a lot of feedback that parents will put docks into the nursery and leave that soundtrack on all night because it helps get their kid to sleep and then settles them when they wake up during the night,” Kaldor said.

Music director Lorna Clarkson said Kinderling is the first station of its kind in the world that programs children’s music next to songs their parents love.

You can dance to Beyonce’s Single Ladies on the Kinderling hit parade. Picture: Matt Sayles/Invision/APSource:AP

AC/DC scraped onto the playlist with Who Made Who the only kid-friendly song they could find. During a day you may hear everything from Michael Jackson, David Bowie and ABBA to Justin Bieber, Beyonce and Sia.

“When I program the station, I’m doing it from the perspective of my inner child,” she said.

“Kids don’t discriminate about genres; if it’s a great melody and they can dance to it, they will love it and if it makes them a little sad inside or calm when they are feeling upset, they like that too.”

Technology and parenting expert Dr Kristy Goodwin said mums and dads had to pay attention to more than the lyrics when choosing what songs to share with their children.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s rock or classical but it should be familiar, repetitive. It should have a consistent beat and be soft, not too loud,” she said.

“We know music is one of the few things which integrates both hemispheres of the brain so it offers a huge benefit to children if we’re careful what songs we expose them to.”

Mum Shevonne Hunt, who also hosts the daily Kinderling Conversation talk show said she tends to share songs that she can dance to with her daughter Darcy and son Arlo.

King Bunny from new kids rock band Bunny Racket with his son Wolf. Picture: Kate HolmesSource:Supplied

“I think the key thing for me is hitting the nostalgia button and music can be such a circuit breaker if the kids are driving me nuts. You turn on the radio, laugh at some old song you love and start singing and dancing with the kids,” she said.

“My biggest challenge is getting the kids ready before I go to work and if I put music on, they are a lot calmer and will find something else to do.”

Australia’s latest rock band for the under 5s and their parents is Bunny Racket, who performed at last weekend’s Dress Up Attack festival in Sydney.

King Bunny is Andy Walker who played with Byron Bay psychedelic rockers Forte and formed the kid-friendly rock band to entertain his toddler son Wolf.

Walker has some serious rock gods helping out with the project with The Doors’ Robby Krieger playing guitar and former Kyuss co-founder Brant Bjork producing the songs at his California studio.

The Bunny Racket catalogue includes A Chicken Is Not A Fruit and Jingle Jangle Jaguar, with Walker assisted in negotiating the minefield of children’s entertainment with the help of the Sesame Street production team.

“Bunny Racket isn’t some kind of backlash against kids’ music. I want parents and kids to get something out of it so you keep it as simple as a Ramones or Kiss song with more kid-friendly lyrics attached to it,” he said.

The Fairgrounds Festival returns to the Berry Showgrounds on December 2 and 3 after proving hugely popular with families when it was staged for the first time last year.

Promoter Mark Dodds said they wanted to make a family-friendly event where parents can catch a band perform while hanging out with their children while they are getting their face-painted or read stories in the Little Fairgrounds section.

Four-year-old Patrick Staley listening to alternative music. Picture: Tara Croser.Source:News Corp Australia

“We wanted to dispel this myth that you enjoy live music in your 20s, become parents in your 30s and 40s and listen to Enya,” he said.

“You should be able to continue to enjoy contemporary music in a space where the kids are taken care of too.

“And kids bring such a great vibe to a festival too. having a cross-section of society at a festival really mellows everyone out. They mind their manners while having a good time.”

What you’ll hear on Kinderling

Depreston, Courtney Barnett

The Jean Genie, David Bowie

Sunshine, The Avalanches

Quasimodo’s Dream, The Reels

Use Somebody, Kings Of Leon

Since You’ve Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson

Single Ladies, Beyonce

Ben, Michael Jackson

Valerie, Amy Winehouse

Back To Life, Soul II Soul

Honey — Moby

Let’s Go Crazy — Prince

Waterloo, ABBA

Think — Aretha Franklin

Is This How You Feel — The Preatures

Summer Nights — John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

Our House — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The Sweetest Thing — U2

My Girl — Hoodoo Gurus