One author's thoughts for parents who struggle getting their children to practice the piano:
I use the example of the child who was forced to learn piano as a child and hated it. They grow up and look back on the whole experience as a very dark period in their childhood. But there is a misconception here. They believe the problem was being forced to learn something they did not want to learn. I believe the problem has nothing to do with the fact they were learning to play piano and has everything to do with the negative emotions attached to the events of that time.
Their parents were most likely not presenting the whole experience in the right way. This resulted in family feuds and a lot of bad memories. The way it usually goes is parent decides to enroll child for piano lessons. Child is happy to go along for the ride at first. Parent is spending money and therefore wants results. Parent tells child to practice. Child doesn't want to practice. Parent gets angry. Child gets upset. The rest is history.
So where did this all go wrong?
There is a critical point in this process that makes all the difference between a child who practices and one who does not. When a child begins to learn the parent must set up the routine. A child will rarely establish routine practice by themselves. Think of it like teaching a child to take a bath or get dressed or clean their teeth or make their bed. The key is consistency. Parents are often not consistent about their child's practice. As adults very few of us would allow our children to go a week with out cleaning their teeth or taking a bath. I cannot ever remember someone complaining about how their parent's forced them to clean their teeth or take a bath. Reason being, they were consistent.
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David Hart has been teaching guitar for over 20 years and playing since 1980. David's experience with young children is extensive.
What were some of your experiences growing up and learning an instrument? What have been your children's experiences so far? Join the discussion below!
