Getting your kids to practice…
Getting kids to practice is a battle. While I don’t have personal experience with practicing at home, I often find that parents have difficulty making their kids practice. They often get disappointed when their kids aren’t enthusiastic about practicing and don’t want to do it innately. I think sometimes what is missed is that music education takes dedication and involvement not only on the part of the student, but by the parent as well, and finding the time and commitment is a challenge with so many activities and busy schedules.
Growing up, my mom would usually have to make me practice violin, but once it was embedded in my daily schedule, by an older age I was able to manage a good amount on my own. But there were so many times that I would have much rather been playing. She was busy running a household full of kids, but she would make me practice violin in the kitchen while she was making dinner. I wouldn’t say I always enjoy practicing, even now, but I learned to push through the barriers of not wanting to and put my mind to it.
Here are some tips that may be helpful for you to try:
1). Make it part of your daily routine as much as possible. Even 5 minutes can go a long way. If you’re busy, look at your schedule and find at least 3 times during the week where you can put aside 10-20 minutes and dedicate that time to practicing.
2). Practice with your kids. Sometimes, kids are able to manage practicing on their own. However, try to sit with your kids and practice with them. Try to be involved in their music lessons so you know what they need to practice at home. Understand that music education is just as important as math and science and sports education.
3). Don’t use force or threats to make your kids practice. Practicing takes discipline and patience. These are things that kids don’t innately have, but with your time and patience as a parent, they can learn. Don’t use the expense of lessons as a way to get them to practice. Don’t use punishments either. Try, “First you need to practice, then you can XYZ. I’ll help you!”
4). Replace a practice session with listening to music. Find videos on YouTube of people playing your child’s instrument. If you don’t know where to start, ask your teacher! Listening to music is just as important as practicing your instrument.
5). Work out a reward system. Sometimes kids need a little more incentive. It’s ok to reward them for their hard work. Use it as a way to celebrate their progress! You can keep a chart of how often they practice during the week, and after 2-4 weeks if they’ve reached a certain number, they can get a reward of some kind. In my studio, if kids have trouble practicing, they can work towards a reward chart and get a prize at the end of 4 weeks.
6). Have your child perform something. Have your child hold a performance for just you or the family. Receiving that kind of encouragement is vital to your child’s self-confidence and enthusiasm in being able to play an instrument and perform in front of others.
If your child is just miserable in lessons, then would be a good time to pull them out and let them do something that they love a lot more. But, my gut always says to stick with it and keep trying.