Parenting : Music to Children’s Ears : * There are many alternatives to sugary and commercial recordings. However, they are often difficult to find.

Tired of Disney movie soundtracks, Barney tapes and sugary soprano lullabies? Many parents are unaware that there’s a cornucopia of alternative children’s music out there. Some of the artists making this music have backgrounds in education or psychology and they key their lyrics to important developmental issues. Others are simply wonderful musicians who love children and feel inspired to write for them.

One problem: It’s hard to find albums by these out-of-the-way artists at chain record stores. Select toy stores and children’s bookstores are a better source.

Imaginarium in Canoga Park stocks a wide variety of audiocassettes, both mainstream and alternative, and its salespeople are knowledgeable. When asked about her current favorites, saleswoman Jenny Brown recently enthused over the work of artist John McCutcheon.

“Musically speaking, he’s the most talented of all the children’s artists,” she said. “He plays a range of instruments. His songs are wonderful and I’d recommend ‘Family Garden’ (Rounder Records, $10.95) to anyone with a child from 2 to 10 years old.”

For parents with battered ears, Brown sees Peter, Paul and Mary as a godsend. “The harmonies go down easily,” she reported. “There are no treacly songs. Your child will love ‘Peter, Paul and Mommy, Too’ (Warner Bros. Records, $11.95), and you won’t go crazy listening to it.”

In this vein, she continued: “I’d also recommend Joe Scruggs. His sense of humor pleases everyone. We sell a lot of ‘Deep in the Jungle’ (Educational Graphics Press, Inc., $9.95), and customers come back to the store to tell me how much they love it.”

At Intelliplay (in Woodland Hills and Sherman Oaks), owner Tsippi Wilson stocks selected titles that she’s enjoyed with her own children. “We’ve listened to all the Joanie Bartels albums together,” she said, “and I recommend them all, from the traveling music you play in your car to the get-up-and-dance tapes. No one will be disappointed buying a Joanie Bartels tape” (Discovery Music, $10.95).

Page’s Books for Children and Young Adults in Tarzana carries hundreds of titles of children’s music. Owner Darlene Daniels listed her personal favorite for preschoolers now as David Jack’s “Gotta Hop” (Golden Music, $10.98). According to Daniels, “It’s filled with bouncy rhythms and catchy lyrics and it’s just right for the child who’s discovering his powers of movement.”

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For ages 4 to 10, said Daniels, “I’d buy anything by Tickle Tune Typhoon. This group has humane values, a great contemporary beat and sly, funny lyrics. ‘Circle Around’ (Music for Little People, $9.98) is my favorite recording of theirs. It won a 1991 Parents’ Choice Medal and the American Library Assn.’s Notable Children’s Recording Award.”

A title that comes up again and again among people familiar with the children’s music field is “For the Children,” an album recorded at a concert for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. It features pop artists like Bette Midler, Bruce Springsteen, Patti LaBelle and others singing traditional children’s songs. This album, which gets across-the-board raves, is a Disney product available at most mainstream record stores ($10.95).

For parents who like to take their youngsters to concerts, the Children’s Concert Calendar lists musical events for kids that are staged in bookstores, parks and malls throughout the San Fernando Valley.

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Performers at these events include such dedicated musicians as Dan Crow, Dennis Hysom, Joanie Bartels and Nina Ryne. Their cassettes are usually available after the concert. (To request a $4 annual subscription, write Teri Baker, 14431 Ventura Blvd., 285, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.)

In addition to concert-going, a good way to shop for new sounds is to tune in to the children’s music station Radio Aahs (located at 830 on the AM dial). The station blends mainstream and alternative children’s music in about a 70/30 ratio. Careful listeners who jot down the title and recording company of tunes they like can then contact record companies, which often have an 800 number for telephone ordering.

Further information on new kids’ music--including a “best list” compiled by experts around the country--is available through “Parents’ Choice,” a nonprofit consumer guide to the latest children’s media. An $18 annual subscription buys dependable advice on books, toys, videos, music, computer programs, television and magazines for youngsters. (To subscribe, write the Parents’ Choice Foundation, Box 185, Newton, MA 02168.)