Kids Dance Party

For kids, music serves only one purpose — the achievement of pure joy by jumping up and down on the spot. So get ready to pogo, youngsters, as Kidzone offers a superfun version of the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out", while DJ Caspar adds a horizontal dimension to the equation with "Cha Cha Slide". Miley Cyrus takes Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and injects it with . . . even more fun, the Jonas Brothers defy gravity on "Fly With Me", and Lady GaGa cuts through mambo and macarena with one simple instruction: "Just Dance".

Jumpin' becomes an obsession for the pop stars you'll find in Next Steps.

Hands up anyone who can name things that jump, not counting kangaroos. Girls Aloud? You're absolutely right, thanks to their mega-bouncy version of the Pointer Sisters' 1984 smash "Jump (For My Love)". Kris Kross? Right again, on account of their 1992 pop-rap classic, "Jump". House of Pain? You're getting good at this, and you're obviously a fan of their sax-squealing single "Jump Around". Crazy Frog? Absolutely, with bonus points for pointing out that "Axel F" started out as the signature release from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, in 1985.

Learn while you groove, with the Jackson 5 and Steps, in Deep Cuts.

Maths is rubbish, right kids? Yeah, but counting is big time fun when Steps get involved, as their boot-scootin' numerical anthem "5, 6, 7, 8" more than adequately proves. As for boring old grammar — well, you can stick that where a squirrel stuffs his nuts, unless the Jackson 5 are involved, as you'll hear when they cut loose with the smooth moves of "ABC". Ornithology? That's just for bearded old men in floppy hats, but the Kid's Players find extra fun in feathers when they deliver "The Birdie Song". You want philosophy? Consider the sound of 1,000 hands clapping on the High School Musical Cast's "Now or Never".

One thing every parent knows is that kids have extra energy, which they love to burn off by dancing. This is true of both boys and girls — that is until boys acquire the mistaken idea that dancing is solely for girls, which renders most of them clumsy and ungraceful on the dance floor for the rest of their lives. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. While they're still young, your tots can express their natural urges to thrash about to some tunes that might even get your own toes tapping. And remember, you're gonna hear these about 100,000 times, so make sure you get a wide variety . . . from ABBA to the Wiggles via Postman Pat.