When other 4-year-olds were wasting their young lives fingerpainting and watching Diego, Kai Song began fiddling with the knobs on his dad’s DJ equipment. Before long, he was spinning at school gigs and block parties and even managing to get his photo taken with Mr. Skrillex himself at the Electric Zoo music fest on Randall’s Island. DJ Kai Song, as the young turntable veteran is now known, is spinning at DeKalb Market this Sunday on Family Day, along with other gigs. (We predict an Ellen appearance by month’s end.) Kai and his father Lars sat down over whoopie pies at One Girl Cookie to talk about Kai’s upcoming gig at Red Bull Arena, meeting his idol and why he would rather you not request Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” (more…)

One of the more popular song selections at kids’ karaoke.

Ever notice how parents of babies are the most sanctimonious ones? Because only babies have to put up with organic kale, breast milk, unbleached organic cotton diapers, and sustainably harvested wood blocks. Not to mention all that quality message music from well-intended kindie bands. As soon as children are old enough to assert their own tastes, they want to eat crap, play with shitty plastic toys, mind meld with brain-frying electronic devices and listen to Z-100 nonstop.

If and when you’re ready to capitulate to your child’s top-40 tastes, consider taking him or her to kids’ karaoke Tuesday nights at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Park Slope. That is, if you can handle watching a gaggle of 6-to-9-year-old girls singing There’s passion in my pants and I aint afraid to show it. 

You actually might find yourself singing along. (more…)

Oh no, is this what it’s come to?

This tip might be a bit bougie for those of you with a Tom’s-only footwear policy, but we know for a fact that there are some hardcore DSW fans in the brokesphere too. (Love those birthday coupons!) If you’re one of them, and a parent, you may have noted how annoying it is that DSW doesn’t sell kids’ shoes. Actually they do — but only online. You don’t get to play red-green-purple sticker blackjack like you do in the clearance racks, but they seem to have some decent stuff  on the site. And you can return kids’ shoes to the adult stores too. There’s also a useful print-out shoe-size ruler that helps drive home how your kid’s foot has grown three sizes since you last sprung for a new pair. Ok, here’s DSW. Now back to our regularly scheduled Spike Lee movie giveaway.

Click photo to watch a video on how Learn to Ride classes work.

We were poking around for news on the Pop-Up Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park — opening in July, oh yeah! — and stumbled upon this useful nugget: parents can bring their kids to bike-riding lessons at Pier 1 for several upcoming Sundays, starting with this one (5/27). Details: (more…)