FOR KIDS : Upbeat Musical Message : Bright Ideas Productions provides a positive note in children’s songs. The tapes, videos and concerts are designed as alternatives to MTV.

Lisa Marie Nelson used to spend many days pushing a stroller through San Fernando Valley malls, searching the children’s stores for music with a positive message for her two young sons.

“I found the traditional songs that teach children to sing E-I-E-I-O. And I found silly songs that amounted to little more than happy, nonsensical lyrics. Those are fine for very small children, but I wanted something with a positive message,” she said.

She also began noticing that Valley children between the ages of 5 and 10 were in the stores buying music played on the rock video network, MTV. Nelson cringed at the thought of her son Freddy, then 3, listening to pop artists at such a young age.

“MTV is simply not age-appropriate for the elementary-age children who are watching it,” she said. “So I sat down and began writing songs. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

“Kids love our songs,” she added. Nelson, 30, developed the song line two years ago and is president of Bright Ideas Productions. “But the parents are the ones who come up to us after a concert and thank us for finally providing them with something other than Ice-T or Madonna.”

Bright Ideas’ “Positive Music for Today’s Kids” is a four-cassette collection of upbeat pop rock that focuses on building children’s self-esteem. It features songs such as “I Can Be It,” “One of a Kind,” “I Can If I Wanna” and “Sure of Ourselves.” The series, designed as an alternative to MTV for elementary-age children, is being distributed to specialty stores throughout the Valley.

Nelson graduated from UCLA in 1983 with a sociology degree and had only a limited musical background.

She paid thousands of dollars to produce her first cassette at a private recording studio in mid-1990, she said, but didn’t attract the attention of distributors until she joined the National Assn. of Independent Record Distributors and produced a second tape.

Since January, Bright Ideas has sold 10,000 tapes, tripling the tally for the previous six-month period.

In the first few months, Bright Ideas began producing videos in conjunction with its music, including “One of a Kind,” which has appeared on the children’s network Nickelodeon.

Within the year, Bright Ideas contracted with Kevin Anthony to be the series’ lead vocalist.

Nelson was awarded the Youth in Film Award in December for her “outstanding contribution to children through music.” (Youth in Film is a nonprofit North Hollywood organization of entertainers who honor those who create quality entertainment for young people.) Soon, teachers were asking about including the “Positive Music for Today’s Kids” series in their curricula.

“Teachers love our music because it tells children something positive, something they’re not hearing from the media and even from each other,” said Marci Jaegle, Nelson’s sister and marketing consultant for Bright Ideas.

Jaegle said Kevin Anthony’s concerts at area malls draw hundreds of children because he is a high-energy performer who gets them excited about the songs. Because of his exposure with Bright Ideas, Anthony has been selected to tour with the National Children’s Theater Company performing “Miss Saigon.”

Although he will still sing the Bright Ideas songs, Anthony’s popularity has forced Nelson and her family-run production company to alter its Valley concert format. Starting in September, karate expert Ted Nordblum will host a “Kid-Fit” concert series in Valley malls. He will lead children through 30 minutes of stretching and exercise set to Bright Ideas music.

“The important thing is that children hear these songs and take something away with them when the concert is done,” Anthony said. “I’ve performed songs such as ‘I Can Do It’ for handicapped children, and they leave the concert with smiles on their faces repeating the words, ‘I can really do it/Yes, I can really do it.’ That’s what this is all about.”

One of Anthony’s favorites at the malls is “Potential,” a rap song that is professionally arranged to sound similar to rap songs on MTV.

The difference is in the lyrics:

“You’ve got potential. P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L. You’ve got potential. When you’ve got potential, then your limits are none. And you’ve got real potential, so go out and have fun. Find all life will offer and stake out your claim. Because you have got potential, it’s your middle name.”

Where and When

What: Bright Ideas lead singer Kevin Anthony in concert featuring “Positive Music for Today’s Kids.”

Location: Fallbrook Mall, West Hills.

Hours: 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Price: Free.

Call: (800) 541-9904 to order a product list, tapes or videos.