Kid-friendly songs for your next family dance party (that will get adults rocking out, too!)

If you love listening to music with your kids, but you can’t stand the thought of hearing Wheels on the Bus one more time, this playlist is for you. It’s packed with kid-friendly songs that won’t drive adults crazy…perfect for your next family dance party.

NOTE: THIS POST INCLUDES AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I HAVE USED AND LOVED, BUT AS ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST DEALS. SEE MY DISCLOSURE TO LEARN MORE.

Music is powerful. When I’m having a rough day, cranking up the tunes is one of my key strategies for beating a bad mood. As the mama in the house, I know my mood sets the tone for everyone else at home, and I’ve learned that playing music keeps everyone happier.

In fact, with the winter weather keeping us inside more than I’d like, we’ve been having dance parties pretty much daily at out house. Even my one-year-old gets in on the action. He LOVES music. As soon as he hears me say, “Alexa…” he starts stomping his feet, knowing what’s coming. It’s pretty much my favorite thing to watch him spin in circles until he literally falls over…and then gets back up for more.

I used to play music on my laptop using Pandora, but a couple of years ago my brother gifted us an Amazon Echo Dot, and since then we’ve been hooked to playing music on it. I love that we can simply ask Alexa to play “kids’ music” and she does it.

It’s as close as I’m ever going to get to having a maid, so I’m living it up. Well, that and my robot vacuum (genius!!!). I tell ya, bless those inventors who really GET what a mom needs. 🙂

FYI – If you have a Amazon Prime Membership, there are TONS of songs you can listen to for free.

My kids LOVE their “friend” Alexa. They ask her what the weather is, play games with her (try playing “guess a number” or Jeopardy), laugh at her terrible knock-knock jokes, and request their favorite songs…over and over.

This week, they surprised me by telling Alexa to “play songs to bug your parents” (How do they think of this stuff???). Even more surprising (or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised), Alexa actually HAS a playlist for just that! We were all introduced to the hilarious–and definitely annoyingly repetitive song, “It’s Raining Tacos.”

Oi.

Several times a day, my 4-year-old will pipe up…”Alexa, play Ghostbusters!” (He’s seriously obsessed). Usually, this results in an impromptu family dance party to cheesy 80s music.

I love it.

In those moments, I stop doing the dishes, play with my kids, and remember that I like having fun. I toss my hair around crazily and laugh at my kids’ confused reactions to their head-banging mother. If you haven’t had a family dance party lately, I highly recommend it.

Over the course of the past six months or so, we’ve developed a list of favorite songs to play for our dance parties. We often take turns requesting Alexa to play a song–that way everyone gets to have their favorite played.

Today I’m sharing that list with you–our favorite kid-friendly songs to rock out to together.

They are perfect for family dance parties, road trips, and for cleaning sprees (“Let’s see how many toys we can clean up before the song ends!”).

Enjoy, and happy dancing!

Kid-friendly songs for your next family dance party

Songs from their favorite movies

1. Get Back Up Again – Anna Kendrick (from Trolls)
2. Happy – Pharrell Williams (from Despicable Me)
3. Shake it Off – we like the edited version from Sing (the original has one swear word)
4. When Can I See You Again – Owl City (from Wreck it Ralph)
5. Something that I Want – Grace Potter (from Tangled)
6. Try Everything – Shakira (from Zootopia)
7. Everything is Awesome – from The Lego Movie
8. Life is a Highway – Rascal Flatts (from Cars)
9. I’m Still Standing – Taron Egerton (from Sing)
10. You’re Welcome – Dwayne Johnson (from Moana)
11. I’m a Believer – Smash Mouth (from Shrek)

Modern Pop Songs

1. Can’t Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake
2. Roar – Katie Perry
3. Brave – Sara Bareilles
4. Hey Soul Sister – Train

Oldies, but Goodies

1. Ghostbusters theme song – Ray Parker, Jr.
2. We Built This City on Rock and Roll – Starship
3. Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
4. Uptown Girl – Billy Joel
5. You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes
6. Splish, Splash – Bobby Darin
7. Jump – Van Halen

What are YOUR favorite songs to dance to with your kids?