kid-friendly, teen-approved dance playlist

This is the time of year for dance parties (OK, so actually any time of year is the time for dance parties in my opinion, but still)! Whether at home or at school, I'm always on the lookout for great, upbeat, make-you-want-to-get-up-and-dance music that is both kid-friendly and not childish. I'm sorry but I am not a Kidz Bop person- I always think they sound cheesy and I've never met a kid who got excited about a "made more childish" version of a pop song they've heard their older siblings listening to. Besides that, I don't like the idea of just editing bits of songs to make them kid-friendly. Eventually they are going to want to know what the original version is like, and usually taking out one or two bad words still leaves you with a song with underlying themes that are too mature anyway.

I thought today I would share what is on my current list of songs that are 1) great dance songs, 2) appropriate for elementary age kids in their original form (not edited), and 3) cool enough for older kids (I'm not guaranteeing no teen eye rolls- I'm no fool- but at least I know they are not specifically marketed to little kids and therefore can't be dismissed as "baby music").

Many of these artists have lots of other great songs, and of course I could keep going with many more, but this post has to stop somewhere so I'll throw it out to all of you: what are your favorite songs for getting the whole family dancing and having fun? Leave your favorites in the comments!

Want more song ideas? Check out my 2017 list here!

Your turn: what did I miss? Now get up and dance!

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