by Deborah Coshun

Created on: April 29, 2009

Music has changed drastically from when I was a teenager just as it did for my parents when I was young. Music was always in our home and brought joy to all of us. These memories are some of my best!

My parents moved with the times by listening to our music and if not enjoying it, attempting to do so in order to keep tabs on what their children were hearing. All the hullabaloo over Elvis at that time was not a problem in our home because my Mama loved Elvis as much as all of her children. I was lucky to have parents that loved music even if none of us could carry a tune. We didn't have video games or a lot of TV back in those days but we had our little turn table and radio to listen to music. Kids were always at our home as it seemed there was always a celebration of some type going on and the biggest one was just the celebration of life via music. We were very poor but never felt poor with the sounds of music always in our home.

The love of music that I grew up with followed me through the years. I never learned to sing or play a musical insturment but loved listening to music of all types. My daughter was raised in a home of music and as the music began changing we shared those changes together. We listened to the music together and discussed changes and this helped us learn to communicate in a way no other medium could have done.

Now we're in a generation of music that I totally don't understand and in most cases don't even like but I listen to the music with my grandchildren, neices and nephews because this is their music and something we can share. I have found the words in a lot of this new music offensive and find myself discussing the music more with my grandchildren, etc. than I ever had to do in the past. These discussions have given me a better understanding of what this new generation is feeling about life, music, etc.. I don't enjoy the love of music with my grandchildren but by listenig to their music it helps to bridge the gaps between our generations and brings us closer. I love the discussions I now have with the teens about their music that is so informative. They get a kick out of listening to "My Music" and will laugh at me lovingly.

Music is a door waiting to be opened between generations to help them find the answers. Open that door by listening to the music of your teen's music and talking "with" them about it and you'll get a lot of answers without having to ask prying questions. This is one of the best ways to get your teens to communicate with you and to learn about your teen. You don't have to like the music but you do need to listen to it to know what's going on around you. Music has always been a language of its own that changes with each generation. You need to be able to communicate with your children so you must learn their language and to do that it is necessary to listen to your teen's music. This doesn't mean you have to ignore the music you truly enjoy because if your teens are exposed to your music, they will learn more about you.

Open the doors of communication with your teens and listen to their music and let them have exposure to your music so they can learn about you. Music, what a beautiful way to communicate!

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