Who knew that listening to Hip Hop with your child can now be a learning experience? Candi Carter had a hitch when she began creating songs to help her then 3-year-old speech-delayed son learn faster and become a better communicator. The songs that she beat-boxed around the house turned into “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!,” an educational video series that caters to children ages 2 to 6, which has become a household staple for many parents around the country.
The DVD series aims to teach toddlers and preschoolers fundamental concepts through dance routines and melodious performances. “Through these songs, I got my son to do things that I wanted him to do,” says Carter. “I made up songs about bedtime, bath time, and walking, for instance, because he would always try to run away and he would walk. I tested it out on faster learning children and they liked it more than he did!”
Besides learning hip baby-friendly choreography, young ones can gain knowledge of animals, nutrition, body parts and more. “Children are singing these songs because they like the beat, but they’re also learning about carrots, peas and broccoli,” said the TV producer. “It’s like the new version of school house rock-we’re taking beats, rhythm and rhyme and pairing it with educational content.”
Carter doesn’t want parents to be fooled by its title, because “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” is for everyone. “The children in the DVDs are all different colors and I think it’s important for our children to see that.” The series was so much of a hit that moms were emailing Carter asking for CDs. There’s more to come from the series, including new topics addressing jobs and occupations. “People say when you want to talk to your children about a serious topic, play basketball or do some sort of fun activity. This is the same concept. We’ve taken a very popular genre of music that our community can relate to and placed educational content with it and kids are learning and developing and they’re having fun.”
To find out more about “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!” visit www.itshiphopbaby.com.