Musician Makes Kid's Album To Encourage Healthy Living

REDONDO BEACH, CA – How many times has the "Baby Shark" song been stuck in your head? If you're the parent or relative of a toddler, odds are you've hummed "baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo" more times than you'd like to admit.

While Baby Shark's catchy melody may be alluring to some, Redondo Beach mom Kendra K. thinks children's songs can be catchy and get a message across. Her new Parents' Choice Award-winning album "Songs for a Healthy Mind and Body" encourages healthy living, kindness, equality and fostering positivity among children, she said.

"Music is one of the most important avenues to get children motivated. I never met a child who didn’t like music," she told Patch. "I was thinking of ways to get my message across, and music is the biggest avenue, so it really gets through to kids."

Kendra's path to creating a children's album came naturally. She began music lessons at a young age and was writing her own songs by the time she was in elementary school. She received her degree in Education from the University of Arizona, and over the years, she became a Certified Physical Education Teacher (K-12th grade), Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Youth Exercise Specialist and Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist. All the while, she continued to write and record music, she said.

It wasn't until starting her own family that she found the calling to make children's music, she said. She completely dedicated herself to children's music after she became pregnant with her first child. She wrote and recorded the entirety of "Songs for a Healthy Mind and Body" during her second and third trimester — all while continuing working in the fitness industry.

"Now that I get to perform for kids, seeing that I can make a difference has solidified my decision to stick to the kids and family area of music," she said.

It was her goal to write a mainstream pop album for kids with songs that parents and adults like too, "not just silly kids songs that are hard to listen to," Kendra said. Why? "So if a kid wants to listen to it 20 times in a row, it won't annoy the parents," she laughed.

Combining her love of music and health, Kendra hopes the album will encourage kids to get up and move because childhood obesity is a real problem, she said. Children's health trickles down generations, so if this generation is already unhealthy then the next generation will be worse, she said.

"We’re at a pinnacle point where we need to make a change," she said. "If our children don’t know how to eat right and exercise, they won’t know how to teach the next generation."

Kendra hopes her music helps families create a healthier lifestyle and that children can remember the songs as they get older. It's a great reminder for adults though too, she said, to remember how to be healthier, kinder and more loving people.

Kendra will start performing this summer and continue to make music videos to accompany her album. She's also working on a new album to be released in 2020, she said.

To learn more about "Songs for a Healthy Mind and Body," check out her website. You can also follow Kendra K. on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.