It took Barenaked Ladies about a decade to win over their first generation of fans.

Now, they're focusing on the next generation with Snacktime!, a concert for family's with little ones.

But that's not to say they're abandoning the adult crowd. After Saturday's matinee show at the NAC, the boys will return to the stag at 8 p.m. for their Barenaked Christmas concert.

"I became inspired to write children's songs after my daughter was born," BNL bass player and happy two-time father Jim Creeggan, 38, says from his home in Toronto.

"I'm drawn to kids' songs like gravity. You don't get the emotional chaos and turmoil of adult pop. You need lots of imagination and a sense of humour to keep a kid's attention."

Snacktime! is the band's recording of 24 children's songs.

CHILDREN AT HOME

"Our kids now outnumber the band more than two to one," writes lead guitarist and singer Ed Robertson. "We set out to make a record that would be entertaining for them, not strictly a children's record, but a record that children would really enjoy.

"Our kids are in to all kinds of music. They Might Be Giants' kids' records, The Beatles, Randy Newman, Black Eyed Peas and Green Day. Making the focus about what our kids like was a truly liberating process and fun for the whole band."

The band has never been short on laughs both on and off the stage, with satirical songs such as Brian Wilson, Be My Yoko Ono and If I Had $1,000,000, as well as their on-stage tomfoolery.

As pop stars go, it's definitely a PG-rated sense of humour.

So it shocked Creeggan when singer Steven Page was busted for possession of cocaine in Fayetteville, N.Y., on July 16.

In October, a New York state judge said Page, who has struggled with alcohol and depression in the past, will be acquitted of drug charges if he stays clean for six months.

"It was so out of character," Creeggan said. "I knew he was going through a nasty divorce, and found himself in a bad situation. But since then he saw his mistake, and is working things through with everyone's support.

"We've been together for 20 years, through many different phases of life, from meeting in high school to getting married, becoming successful in our career and having kids. We've been through a lot."

Tickets for either of Saturday's concerts are $28 and $42 at the box-office, all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at www.nac-cna.ca.