Let's Try Something Good for Frostburg's Children

The following is a community product resulting from the positive engagement of countless citizens:

Many community leaders and/or families have already shown their official support for the well-being of our young children and the number is growing. Private conversations and negotiations have been going on for months and we have arrived at a compromise that should be able to please nearly everyone. We are thankful to the five volunteer members of the Recreation Commission for their kindness and patience. Now we just need to show that there is widespread support. Let's prove how much this town cares about our young ones!!

If this is a cause you believe in, please share this with friends and family via all social media outlets.

Anonymous signatures are welcomed.

We hope to gather as many names as possible before May 28, 2016 (opening day at the pool), but will continue collecting until the list is submitted next week.

The following pool music compromises have been repeatedly proposed by a variety of Frostburg citizens over the past two months and are so easy to do that they can be implemented by Mr. Vought, Director of Parks and Recreation, and the excellent Pool Managers alone. By signing, you are kindly asking Mr. Vought and the Managers to select any one of the proposals below to provide more appropriate music options for our town's younger children.

i) “Setting special child-friendly music hours while the pool is still open to all.”
a. For Example: 4-6pm, Tu, W, Th
b. Staff should pick the lowest attendance times, to help increase business.
c. This equals only six hours out of forty-two total pool hours each week.

ii) “Playing music with no words.”
(Professional iheart representatives, the current music providers, have suggested these three stations that are 100% clean, great for families, and great for our pool.):
a. "Native Steel Drummers" from iheart
b. "Instrumental Rock" from iheart
c. "Instrumental Pop" from iheart
d. or another 100% clean station that the staff may find.
(You can go to iheart.com and listen to these stations yourself.)

iii) Combining the above themes to provide some official times when parents will know that the music is "kid-safe":
a. For Example: Playing Native Steel Drummers from iheart, 12-2 on Tu
b. For Example: Playing Instrumental Rock from iheart, 2-4 on Th
c. Exact times should be settled by the pool staff.

Why is it important to seek other music options for younger children at the Frostburg Pool?

1) We love the Frostburg Pool! It is the best pool around!

2) Here are lyrics from songs that were each heard an average of one time each six-hour day at the Frostburg pool during the 2015 season (Parentheses indicate the number of times the phrase was repeated within each song) : “You're lookin’ so damn hot” (3), “This summer’s gonna hurt like a mother uh uh” (11), “Come harder just because, I don’t like it, like it too soft, I like it a little rough” (1), “I ain’t drunk, OK maybe I do have a little buzz” (1), “That’s one hell of an amen” (5), “I can’t feel my face when I’m with you.” (this song is about snorting cocaine)(6). Songs heard less frequently: “Your sex takes me to paradise.” (4), “There’s a stranger in my bed, a pounding in my head… I smell like a minibar… Is this a hickie or a bruise?”(1) (For artists and titles, type lyrics into Google.)

a) While radio music does comply with FCC regulations, it often does not comply with pool/school rules or child psychologists’ judgment about what is okay to be said to younger children.

i. Pool rule #5 at the pool says, "No Profanity.”

ii. To create the best environment for our children, school rules across the country prohibit sexually suggestive/obscene language and speech that promotes the use of drugs/alcohol. We want pool options that are in line with what is best for our children.

iii. A team of secular child psychologists at Common Sense Media has recently rated two of the songs above as only appropriate for children ages 13+ and 15+. The other songs were not yet reviewed. The American Academy of Pediatrics also supports the concept that not all music is appropriate for children ages 0-12.

b) It is true that the pool music sometimes cannot be heard on hot days when the pool is crowded. But, why do we want to play music that we "hope our kids can't hear"? In addition, cooler days are a common part of Frostburg “summers”. On cooler days, or later in the day, when there are fewer people at the pool, children and other visitors can hear the music very clearly. It is important that times exist when the music is "okay" for young children to hear.

This discussion is not about the music that individuals listen to privately or any other forms of media. It is about having better music options for our younger children at the tax-payer supported pool we all love. Why not give it a try?

We are proposing that the pool staff set up a schedule and use the stations recommended by the iheart professionals for six pool hours each week continuing for the first ten full weeks of this pool season. Then, at the Recreation Commission's August meeting, lifeguards, pool patrons, and other engaged citizens can voice their opinions about whether or not this was a positive change for our pool, whether we should adjust the children's hours, which of the new iheart stations we like the most, and any other related opinions. It will be a great opportunity to seek informed community feedback after the initial trial period.

We will not know how it works until we try it.