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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I made my kid take piano lessons starting at age six.  She has some natural ability/talent, but has never had a lot of interest, and as the years went by pushback grew (I bribed her with tv time in exchange for practice time :)).  I told her she had to keep taking lessons until she started high school/9th grade.  My thinking was I wanted her to have the tools/foundation so that if she wanted to play in a band or whatever in high school, she could (my brother was in a band in high school and had an absolute blast - I was so envious!).  She is in 9th grade now, and took the fall semester off from the piano - but recently (in January) requested to/restarted lessons - she decided she wants to play in one of the school bands next year - my long game paid off - wowee!  Same with travel soccer - her interest has waxed and waned - but we made her stick with it (reassessing every year) - she made the high school varsity team in 9th grade and played a ton and had an absolute blast.  I guess I offer these examples in support of OP's post/topic, though I also agree with what some of the PPs have said - the kid has to have some talent/internal motivation to go along with the parental support/push (as a parent you can't make it happen if the kid doesn't have at least a modicum of interest and ability).[/quote]

Why not let her try different instruments and let her pick.  [/quote]
Maybe she didn't want to try a different instrument?  I have a kid who is talented at piano but hates to practice.  It's not that she doesn't like playing, just that she would rather be a kid and goof around.  I have been pushing her to continue and to practice 20-30 minutes a day. Kids who are phenoms, practice for hours.  She practices just enough to improve each week and keep up with her lessons.  If she really hated it I'd let her stop, but that's not the case.  She does enjoy piano, especially when playing with others.  It's just a lot to expect a kid to have the discipline to remember and make time to practice nightly all on their own.

It's no different than me and working out.  I like the outcomes and feel better when I do it, but sometimes it's hard to get off the couch.[/quote]

Seymour Bernstein (famous piano teacher) specifically addresses parents. He says so many seek him out for lessons and clearly he can take his pick. But he says to the parents that there will be times and probably many times that the kid will not want to practice. Of course. They are tired. They want to play video games. Or they just don’t feel like it. But he tells the parents that they need to remind and enforce the practice time, particularly at the younger ages. Even kids with crazy talent need to be pushed sometimes. [/quote]

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