What age would you expose metal to your kids at?

This is an interesting question. Some people have no problems with letting their kids listen to metal at any age, regardless of the content.

There are many metal bands I would have absolutely no problem with my kids listening to at any age, such as Death (apart from the first album), Devastation, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, etc. At the same time, a lot of bands I like have a lot of cursing, and a lot of violent/occult related content.

As much as I love Slayer (massive fan, seeing them live was the best experience of my life), it would be kind of discomforting hearing a seven year old son or daughter sing, "I feel the urge, the growing need, to F*** this sinful corpse!" So some bands I would likely not expose them to until their pre-teens, although I would probably show them some bands that musically sound like them, but have cleaner/less violent lyrical content.

Anyways, what is your stance on this? Also, for the parents here who have actually been in this situation, what were you guys like?

I don't listen to vulgar/sexual/satanic metal to begin with, so my girls (6 and 3) listen to it all the time. The 6 year old actively loves Dio, Fireball Ministry, SOAD, Rob Rock and also likes Axel Rudi Pell, Masterplan, Blind Guardian and others....

My 8 year old is a metalhead...I never purposefully steered him dow that path...He just spent alot time in Dad's car when he was little and it' what I listen to...

He was a KISS fiend by 5 years old...then on to AC/DC, IRON MAIDEN and ALICE COOPER....now he pulls things from the rack at random to check out. He was taught at a young age what the PA symbol means and he can listen to those discs bt he knows they contin cursing (this a something we have never had a problem with with him...)

Now he has an arsenal of little metal shirts (ALICE, KISS, MAIDEN, RUSH)he wears to school...and none of his little peers get it)

Tey all tout GREEN DAY and he praises NEW YORK DOLLS

Never to young to turn em on to the ways of metal!

I'd start out with the classic stuff like; KISS, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin. Then work your way up, as he/she gets older to, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax...etc. Thats how I'm gonna try it with my kid(s) when I have one.

My mother raised me on a whole load of classic british metal like Led Zeppelin and Sabbath and I turned out fine

The sooner the better. Play metal to them while they are still in the womb. It is scientifically proven to make them smarter.

I play metal for my 2 yr old daughter all the time,she loves music.Hopefully she will grow up to like metal instead of the modern pop crap.

I'm gonna start my kids out with rock 'n roll, some classic rock and then gradually build them up to heavy metal. I'd be afraid that introducing metal too soon would turn them away when they get old enough to make their own decisions.

It's only natural for teens to rebel against their parents in some form or another. Think about it. If I'm listening to Slayer, what is my kid gonna have to do to one-up the old man? If I'm a headbanger, and that's all the kid is exposed to as a youngster, he's gonna turn to broadway showtunes or gangsta rap just to go against the grain and be different.

romeolimagolf wrote:

The sooner the better. Play metal to them while they are still in the womb. It is scientifically proven to make them smarter.

will they be born wearing spiked wristbands and have long hair

My kids were going to Ultimatum shows when they were babies/

I don't think that "teaching" kids metal is a good idea - just let them
to listen whatever they want. Nothing serius will happen if they hear
something like "I feel the urge, the growing need, to F*** this sinful corpse!" - they can watch the news on the TV.

I'm 25, engaged, and don't have any kids yet (don't plan to for at least another 5 years). But I say it's never too young to let'em hear a lil' metal. I'm not into any death metal or satanic junk, so I don't have to worry about that.

But I'm a big fan of the hair bands, and some songs/bands of that ilk can get pretty vulgar. As long as there's not any swearing or any other kind of suggestive lyrics, I'll let them listen to whatever. As they get older (12+?), I'll loosen the reins and probably let them hear everything I own.

i got into metal at 8. so whenever the kid developed an interest in it. if they did at all that is. it would't bother me, letting them listen to satanic stuff any more than it would bother me them listening to christian. as far as vulgarity & cursing goes, they'd probably hear worse from daddys mouth.

I started buying records in grade school. Kids in my school were into
the Bay City Rollers and the Jackson 5. I was listening to Thin Lizzy,
KISS, Ted Nugent and Judas Priest.

Been listening to metal since age 12 (REALLY listening, as in it being my genre of choice).

I say let your kid (or kids) listen to whatever makes 'em happy. That's all that matters, ey?

My dad played Metallica to me when I was like 2 and 3, and I loved every minute of it. I don't think I turned out too bad.

Quiet Riot - Metal Health 1983. I was 9, and my life was changed forever

any age sooner the better anything to stop the spread of the chav culture. an they could av what they want on because i can barely ever tell the lyrics for any song let alone a metal song so i aint bovered about content

There is no age limit for me. Sure stuff with swearing may not be right until a certain age, but I'd expose metal to them at birth!

My son started listeing to Van Halen & Pink Cream 69 & Harem Scarem at around 8 years old...

My son's four and a half (and another one is on the way this August!) but he doesn't seem really interested in music at all right now. He hears my stuff when we're driving in the car (I keep it at a low volume, naturally, I'll let him destroy his OWN hearing when he gets older, hahaha!)... once in a while he'll like a song and ask me to play it again and again and again, though. We went thru a phase where I had to play BOC's "Godzilla" at least twice during our drive to drop him off at day care, and he'd be singing "Go go GODZILLA!" all the way.

I almost forgot...when my son was around 18 months old, he would headbang in his carseat to Precious Death & Deliverance....

I used to sneak my dad's Sabbath vinyl & give it a spin as soon as I was old enough to work the ole' Victrola. My 4 & 8 year old girls are both metalheads, thats why they dont like to ride in the car with their Momma " cause she listens to that country junk" according to my 4 year old.

My parents exposed me to Classic Rock and some Metal that I listened to until maybe 8 or 9 from the point of being born. Then came that damned Pop phase I had for 3 years. I gradually worked my way back into Rock and Metal by 12, only to then get into Rap/Hip-Hop. That lasted maybe 7 months. Since that stopping point, I can't stand Rap, Pop, R&B, etc. All I listen to now consists of everything from Hard Rock to Death Metal.

Point being, you shouldn't try to make anyone(kids especially)like a certain type of music in general. In fact, my Dad doesn't even like what I listen to now. He's a Country junkie now(which bothers me)and my Mom still rocks pretty hard.

I would say for the most part they exposed me to what they liked(Zeppelin, KISS, The Allman Brothers, Skinnard, Sabbath, etc.) And once again, here I am listening to the likes of Death Metal.