10 Songs About Kids Growing Up

Don’t worry, Mama. It happens to the best of us. One second we’re complaining that we’ll never get that yellowy, smelly spit up out of our nursing bra and the next we’re watching our babies start high school. It seems like a cliché, but it’s the truth. The baby days, toddler days, even some days during the teen years feel ever long but the years are short. They pass by too quickly.

Childhood is short.

If you’re needing that extra boost from a sweet song about your baby growing up and branching out any of the following will do-

10. Taylor Swift’s “Never Grow Up”
This one gets me every time. I just can’t with the mixture of Taylor’s sweet, pre-Reputation voice and the chorus, which is every good parenting feeling.
“To you, everything’s funny
You got nothing to regret
I’d give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that”

9. Ellie Goulding’s “How Long Will I Love You”
We first saw this song on America’s SYTYCD. The choreography and the story about the little girl finding out she was adopted hit us right in the feels.
“How long will I want you
As long as you want me to
And longer by far
How long will I hold you
As long as your father told you
As long as you can”

8. Nichole Nordeman’s “Slow Down”
This song sums up how a baby goes from crying at night to pulling their chubby hands away in a bid to do it on their own. It’s something every parent both yearns for and dreads, their child being healthy enough and brave enough to go it alone.
“Let’s make it last a little while
I pointed to the sky and now you wanna fly
I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can somehow
Slow down”

7. J.J. Heller’s “I Get To Be The One”
Every parent knows it’s not the kids who are lucky. It’s us. They won’t remember the ways they changed our families and our lives when they came into the world, but we will. They won’t remember their very first steps, but we will. This is all beautifully captured by the words, “I get to be the one.”
“Don’t feel alone now,
Little baby.
Do you hear me singing you a song
I can’t wait to show you
Little baby
How to crawl
How to walk
And how to run”

6. Reba McEntire’s “You’re Gonna Be”
There’s no fear like going one day from believing you have all the tools to get by to the next when, holding an innocent baby, you realize the world is a little scary. You’re both so in love and so afraid that molding a human being is beyond your capabilities. Queen Reba gets this.
“6 pounds and 9 ounces, lookin’ up at me
Like I have all the answers
I hope, I have the ones you need
I’ve never really done this, now I know what scared is”

5. Crystal Shawanda’s “You Can Let Go”
We dare you to listen to this one and not cry. It’s a beautiful, painful circle of life type song that makes us ache for both the parent and the child. The truth is, as humans of any age, we’re both.
“I was standin’ at the altar
Between the two loves of my life
To one I’ve been a daughter
To one I soon would be a wife
When the preacher asked,
‘Who gives this woman?’
Daddy’s eyes filled up with tears
He kept holdin’ tightly to my arm
‘Till I whispered in his ear

You can let go now, Daddy
You can let go
Oh, I think I’m ready
To do this on my own
It still feels a little bit scary
But I want you to know
I’ll be ok now, Daddy
You can let go”

4. Tini’s “Born to Shine”
It’s every parent’s wish to see their kids succeed, to reach their individual dreams and feel fulfillment. This song is about the need to reach, keep reaching, and know all the while that’s there’s someone in your corner.
“Born to sing, born to try
Born to dance, born to rise
Born to be who you are
Born to love”

3. Zac Brown’s “I’ll be your man”
There are very few relationships as powerful and long lasting as a father’s love for his little girl. It’s unique. It’s forever. Zac Brown sings this sentiment perfectly.
“Go have a ball
Take every chance that you may
You know I’ll be one call away
I’ll always be, I’ll always be your man”

2. Celine Dion’s “If I Could”
No sappy song list is complete without this diva. Celine Dion, perennial puller of heartstrings and singer of “My Heart Will Go On” (which encompasses the romantic fantasies of every preteen girl in the 90’s), can do it like no one else.
“If I could
I would try to shield your innocence from time
But the part of life I gave you isn’t mine
I’ve watched you grow
So I could let you go”

1. Macklemore’s “Sloane’s Song”
We love seeing this side of Macklemore. He captures a father’s need both to be at home with his kid and the need to be out in the world gaining experience. Macklemore may be a rapper and traveling the world, but most parents face a similar dilemma. They both need and want to work and continuing “growing up” themselves while offering support and encouragement to their kids. Preach.
“They say girls shouldn’t be tough
And moms should raise their kids at home
But baby, I know that that isn’t true
Cause your momma’s the toughest person I know
I wanna raise you to be like her
And watch you show the world how to do it on your own
I’m still tryna figure out who I am
I don’t wanna mess this up or do this wrong”