18 Best Kids' Dance Songs: Clean + Loved by Parents Too [2021]

Inside: Next time you or the kids have a case of the crankies, fire up this playlist of dance music for kids and boogie away the bad mojo. (No Yo Gabba Gabba here!)

In our family, the person who makes it home first from work or school on a Friday afternoon has an important responsibility: Set everything up for our official Friday night family dance party.

Here’s how it works:

Clear the living room floor of LEGOs and baby teethers,
Queue up our playlist of the best kids’ dance songs, and
Crank the volume.

And if you’re the last person home?

Nothing beats that feeling of walking in the door, hearing the notes of happiness reverberate through the house, and stepping into the living room to see your whole family dancing and giggling.

A family dance party is one of the best ways to spend quality time with your kids after a day apart – or if you’re just feeling cooped up indoors because of cold/rainy/sweltering weather. Plus, dancing is good for your health in lots of ways, from heart health to stress levels and more.¹Yeager, S. (2012, August 6). Get into the Groove: The Benefits of Dance. Women’s Health.

Related: The Best 10-Minute Fix to Spending Quality Time With Kids {Printable}

18 Happy Kids’ Dance Songs That Parents Love, Too

Here’s a clean playlist of dance music for kids that’s fun for the whole family to shake their booties to. These contemporary, upbeat tunes have clean lyrics with no swear words, but unlike most dance music for kids, they’re not so kiddish that you’ll lock yourself in the bathroom til they’re over. Yo Gabba GAG ME.

Next time you and/or the kids have a bad case of the crankies, fire up a few of these songs and dance away the bad mojo. Research shows that babies and toddlers especially get a big dose of happy when moving their bodies to a rhythmic beat,²LiveScience. (2010, March 15). Babies are born to boogie, study shows. NBC News. and that goes for adults too.³Zajenkowski, M., Jankowski, K. S., & Kolata, D. (2015). Let’s dance–feel better! Mood changes following dancing in different situations. European journal of sport science, 15(7), 640–646.

You’ll tire the kids out before bedtime, plus you’ll burn a few calories yourself. Which means you can skip working out, or at least skip feeling guilty for not working out. (You’re welcome!)

1. When Can I See You Again?^† by Owl City

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

You might recognize this one from the soundtrack of Wreck-It Ralph, but it’s not sickeningly sweet like some kids’ dance music. Just good clean fun!

Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you
Go see the world ’cause it’s all so brand new
Don’t close your eyes ’cause your future’s ready to shine
It’s just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly

18 Happy Kids’ Dance Songs That Parents Love, Too

1. When Can I See You Again?† by Owl City

2. Let’s Be Young by Evan McHugh

3. Be OK by Ingrid Michaelson

4. More of This by Vetiver

5. Girl by Jukebox the Ghost

6. Brand New Day by Lindsey Ray with Tim Myers

7. Sleepy Tigers by Her Space Holiday

8. A-Punk by Vampire Weekend

9. Riptide by Vance Joy

10. The Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti and Spearhead

11. Kids by MGMT

12. Black Horse & The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall

13. Happy by Pharrell Williams

14. Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake

15. Try Everything by Shakira

16. Safe and Sound by Capital Cities

17. On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

18. I Like to Move It by will.i.am

Get the Spotify Playlist: Clean Songs for Kids

Want More?

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

8 Comments

1. When Can I See You Again?^† by Owl City