Here're the basics:

We (my almost 2 year old and myself) will be having a commute of 45-60 min next year.
My in-laws generously gave us $100 to spend on him "to buy him fun stuff you think he'd like or needs."
I was thinking of using that money to buy some toddler-friendly CDs to play during the commute so that it becomes more quality time and less torment.

BUT, I don't have any specific ideas in mind (so far, the only kid CD we have is one that goes through secular kid songs very slowly. It drives me nuts.)

So, what CDs do the toddlers in your life adore? Which ones of those are tolerable to adults?

Uncle Moishy - probably more tolerable to adults than others.

Very important. You'll have to be able to listen to it non-stop for 2 hours every day, presumably 5 days a week.

I was actually thinking of him but he's got about a bazillion out there so even suggestions of favorite albums is appreciated.



Yup. A primary reason I'm asking for advice instead of just picking a few at random.

I loved the 613 Torah Avenue series. I think Torah Island as well, but am not sure. But I'm far from the expert on English tapes. Now Yiddish....

Actually, there's nothing like the original 5 or so. If you can get a hold of them, it'd be good. I think volume 8 is good too.
You can try 613 Torah Avenue - Songs of the Seasons.

Maybe get some foreign language CDs. * (I bet they even make some geared toward kids.)



*No more B) emoticon?

Just looked up Torah Island (I'd never heard of them) and they seem ok. Any particular albums or are they all pretty much the same?

Not opposed to a Yiddish if it's catchy and won't drive me nuts.



Why do you like the first ones better than the later ones? (I'm not very familiar with this genre at all.)

Looked up Songs of the Seasons on mostlymusic.com and they only seem to have it in cassette form which doesn't help for my car. They have some of the others in CD format but they seem to be tied to Bereishis, Shemos, etc.



You mean like maybe he could learn Yiddish?

OOOOOOOHHHH good idea! Why not use that time to teach him something? Or what about audiobooks? You can pocket your money and get them from the library. If he likes having books read to him, he'll like an audiobook. You could even check out the same book from the library so he could have it in his hands in his carseat.

Hmm. I like this idea in theory. Certainly if both are checked out from the library. I'm just not sure when's the next time I'm going to have money to spend on fun stuff for him (as opposed to socks, for example, which I'll have to buy him anyway) so I want to get something(s) I'll get a lot of mileage out of. I just don't know how many times we (ok, I) can stand to listen to the same audio book.

If your library is relatively medium/large sized, you should be able to get a variety of kids' audio CDs.

It's probably a good idea to try getting a few from the library now and see which types he enjoys most. (music, stories, etc.) Then if you spend money on something, you'll know it's a worthwhile purchase.

I used to listen to it way back and it's hard for me to remember much about the actual themes. I suggest you try them first.

Are you familiar with Yiddish tapes at all? Some of them truly grate on your nerves, while others are more ok. There are 2-3 tapes that have little kids talking and sonny giggles every time the kids come on. There is on series that's a winner with kids and adults as well.

You make sense.



Not familiar with Yiddish tapes at all (and I couldn't speak Yiddish to save my life).

I agree that the original Uncle Moishy's are way better than the newer ones.

Also Dr. Middos has a sound track that is really good. Your son is probably too young for the tapes but young and old can learn from those songs. (We're always singing the revenge song in my house!)

Ok so by pocket the money I really meant you can stretch it out for a long long time and buy him lots of stuff. Your best bet (for his stimulation and your adult sanity) is to go for a variety of both loud and quiet options. Some board books should occupy him a little bit (quietly) and some audio books, music cds, sing a longs etc should occupy him with sound. You're going to want to be constantly replenishing the supply so he doesn't get bored and fidgety. Unless you're a millionaire, the best option seems to be the library with some subsidies for special things.