7 Reasons Why Some Kids Aren't Singing

I want to encourage you to do something.  When your ministry is meeting in person again, look at the kids during the time of worship. 

If you are like many children's ministries, you will sadly have to report that some of the kids aren't singing.  

Why do you think many kids just stand there motionless with lips sealed tight?

In this post, I'm going to share with you 7 reasons why kids aren't singing and how you can fix it.

Some kids aren't singing because the songs are written for adults. Kids don't connect as well with songs that were originally written for adults. Even if you take the song and change it some to be "kid-friendly" it still normally doesn't resonate well with the kids.  

If you want to see kids singing, then use songs that were written specifically for kids.

Here's an example from our new kid's worship album.  Notice how it is geared toward kids. (if you are reading this by email and can't see the song - you can watch it at this link)

Some kids aren't singing because the songs are too long.  Most adult worship songs run 4-5 minutes or even longer.  Let's be honest, many times when you are standing in the audience, you are hoping the song will end, so you can sit down and rest.  Especially when it's 3-4 songs in a row.  Seems like the worship team keeps repeating the last few phrases over and over and over and over.

Kids are the same way.  Here's another example of a song from our new album.  Notice the length of the song.  Here's the direct link to watch the song, if you can't see the video in this email.

There are no boys helping lead worship. This is not just true for 4th grade boys.  Next time you are in an adult service, look around. You will see that most men are not singing.  Some of that is due to the fact that worship songs talk about loving God, talking to God, being close to God, etc.  Men are not emotionally wired that way as much as women.  And so many of them check out during worship time and just stand there. 

Boys are the same way.  If something seems "girly" they are turned off and won't join in.  And if they only see girls up front helping lead, they will check out as well.  Make sure you have an equal number of males leading as you do females.

Want to see boys start singing?  Put some high school boys up front and you'll see more boys join in.

Need some new songs.  It's important to mix in new songs on a regular basis. This keeps worship fresh and exciting.  We have 12 new worship songs for kids written by an amazing artist named Travis August. Each song comes with a worship video you can use with the kids.  You can see more about the album and purchase it at this link.

There are too many motions to the songs.  This can cause the kids to start focusing on keeping up with the motions instead of focusing on worshiping.  Keep the motions simple and easy to follow.

Lack of leadership.  You need a strong leader to lead worship with kids.  Someone who can command the stage and challenge kids to lift their voices loud as they worship our great God.  Shy, quiet worship leaders will lead to quiet, monotonous singing.  

You are putting the older kids in the back with the younger kids in front of them.  This causes the older kids to check out.  Why?  Because they see "little kids" in front of them.  Big kids don't want to participate in "little" kids programs or music.  Always target the oldest kids in the room. This will catch everyone and you'll see more kids engaging in worship. Little kids want to be "big kids" and seeing the big kids in front of them worshiping, causes them to want to join in with the "cool, older kids" in worship.

So there you have it.  7 reasons why some kids aren't singing.  Do you need to make some changes in your kids' worship ministry?  

Love to hear your thoughts on this.  Share your thoughts, insight and input in the comment section below.