What do you do when you’re paying a good amount of money each month for your child’s piano lessons yet they won’t practice? Their teacher is frustrated, you’re frustrated, and you’re at the crossroads of allowing your child to quit or forcing them to practice and continue with lessons. Here are 6 tips on how to successfully motivate your child to practice:
- Designate a practice time
Kids thrive on structure, and having a framework for practice time will help them succeed. If they know they need to practice 30 minutes each day, yet no time has been designated for that practice, then the day can quickly slip by and, before you know it, it’s time to brush teeth and get in bed. We adults understand that dilemma. The same thing happens to use unless we schedule time for our goals. Choose either a specific time every day (say, 4:30pm) or set a general guideline like “after school and before dinner.” Most parents find that having the same time each day (and allowing flexibility when needed) is the most effective.
2. Give your child space yet be available for help
Allow them to practice without the pressure of criticisms, remarks, and someone hovering over their shoulder. Seriously, who likes that?! They need time to fumble through their practice, working through the mistakes until they can make improvements. Be available, however, if they have a question or need help figuring out a note or passage.
3. Give lots of encouragement
Cheer them on with encouraging words like “that is sounding great” or “you’re really making good progress.” They might not respond but your encouragement goes a long way and lets them know you care and are listening to their efforts. Subconsciously it also motivates them to continue through the challenges of learning and practicing and helps them believe that they can do it!
4. Reward system
Using a reward system has been very effective for many parents. There are several variations to this approach, but one is to have a practice chart up on the wall or on the fridge. Have your child write down each day how many minutes they have practiced and at what time. For every day they accomplish their goal they receive a certain number of points. At the end of the month, tally up the points and have various reward tiers. If they under-practiced and are below a certain point level, then they don’t receive a reward that month. But if they are at a certain level (or higher) they get various rewards, such as stickers, a special treat, a prize from the dollar store, or scheduling a family night and choosing what game to play or movie to watch. It’s amazing how effective a reward system is for practice motivation!
5. Involve your child in the planning and discussion
As you plan the practice approach, involve your child in the discussion. Get their feedback on what time to designate for practice, and talk to them about the reward system. They might have some good ideas to add and being involved in the planning will give them a sense of ownership.
6. Find out their practice likes and dislikes
Lastly, ask your child what they enjoy practicing the most and least. Encourage them to start with something they enjoy to get into the practice spirit, and then coach them on ways to get through the parts they don’t. If you need help with that, go to their teacher for suggestions. A good teacher should be happy to provide feedback on how to tackle and improve practice challenges. Also, see if the teacher is incorporating piano pieces or songs that your child likes. That is a huge part of helping your child find motivation. Sometimes that means including just one piece that the teacher has allowed your child to select in addition to their other repertoire pieces.