Teaching children to sing - advice please

[helen]

Hello everyone,

I teach children to make music, mostly vocally. I have children under 7 for whom general pitch awareness, dynamics, tempo and rhythm are the key factors. I use the Kodaly approach in addition to some lovely primary school songbooks and the odd nod to Walt Disney. Fine, no problems there.

It is for children older than 7 where I start to worry. I know that their voices cannot be treated in the same way as adults so my preference is to steer clear of anything that doesn't sound sweetly childish and remains in the D4 - D5 range. However, the children themselves want to sing like the popstars from the television.

I want them to sing the songs that speak to them and that they want to sing. However I wince when I hear them screaming and belting their way through songs that are sung by much older singers. Now one of my 10 year olds wants to take private lessons and although she is a lovely singer, she is probably the worst culprit.

My first priority must always be their vocal health, both now and ongoing. However can anyone provide any guidance regarding what they should and shouldn't sing. I need find the common ground between health and their own personal tastes.

Expanding on that, at what age would you allow them to start singing more like adults?

Thanks in advance for your help

Helen