Taylor Swift Is Teaching Your Kids. Are You Paying Attention?
The other day, Galleria came home singing a song a friend taught her at school. She had the chorus memorized. I’ll admit the song was catchy. The kind of song that gets stuck in your head, whether you want it to or not.
But as I listened closer to the lyrics, my stomach sank. The lyrics weren’t innocent. They were painting a picture of sensuality, desire, and relationships that didn’t match the values we want shaping her heart.
In that moment, it hit me: music isn’t just background noise. It’s teaching her something. Every beat, every lyric, every catchy chorus is discipling her, whether I realize it or not.
Confucius once said, “If you want to know whether a nation is flourishing or declining, look at its music.”
Thousands of years later, his words still ring true. Music has always been more than entertainment; it’s formation. It disciples hearts, shapes values, and normalizes what we believe is “just the way things are.”
For many kids today, their daily discipleship doesn’t come from the church or even from their parents. It comes through their earbuds.
Take Taylor Swift as an example. Once viewed as the innocent country girl with a guitar, she’s now one of the most influential voices shaping a generation’s worldview. Her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department, includes songs like “Down Bad,” which drops the f-word 18 times and nearly 60 profanities across the album. Beyond the words, it’s the values that come through: rebellion, promiscuity, disrespect, and self-definition apart from God.
What’s even more alarming is how many parents not only allow this influence but actively promote it through purchasing tour tickets, merch, etc. In doing so, the message is not just being tolerated, but celebrated.
And here’s the hard truth: when we normalize certain lyrics, behaviors, or values by applauding them, our kids learn to applaud them too. We can’t be surprised when the same ideas show up in their words, their relationships, or their choices down the road.
As parents, our job isn’t to make sure our kids never hear a bad lyric… that’s impossible. Our job is to disciple them, to help them recognize what’s worth celebrating and what isn’t. Because the voices we endorse today are shaping the values our children will carry into tomorrow.
Parents, here’s the question: If this music is what’s shaping your child’s worldview, what will they grow up believing is normal?
This isn’t just about Taylor Swift (there are plenty of other examples). It’s about the bigger reality that music and media are some of the strongest, most consistent voices speaking into our children’s lives.
What Can We Do?
Be aware. Pay attention to what your kids are streaming, watching, and listening to. Ignorance isn’t protection.
Evaluate your own choices. Ask yourself: “Am I modeling discipline with what I let into my own mind and heart?”
Have conversations. Instead of just saying “turn that off,” ask your child what they think a song means. Help them process lyrics at an age appropriate level and compare it with the truth.
Point them to better alternatives. There is great music and media out there that is fun, excellent, and honors God. Help them discover it.
At the end of the day, music is a powerful tool of formation. It can disciple toward foolishness, or it can disciple toward wisdom. As stewards of our children’s hearts, we can’t afford to ignore the soundtrack of their lives.