A lot of times as a parent, you don’t start your children in piano lessons, because you might be afraid of not knowing how to help your child to practice. It’s honestly just fear of the unknown. When you enrolled your child in soccer, ballet, or art lessons, you probably didn’t quite know what to expect there either. But, there are ways parents can help your children practice piano.
A lot of what holds parents back is if you don’t have a musical background. You might feel like you’re unequipped to help your child succeed. Even if you do have a few years of piano lessons under your belt from when you were a kid, you might be unaware of what to do each week with your child. Or, you might think they won’t have time to fit practice into your busy lives. A lot of parents are juggling schedules of more than one child, and adding another thing to their plate seems impossible. Communicating with your child’s piano teacher is so important, which I talk about in episode 2 of the Learn Music Together podcast.
Motivate Your Child with Praise
Know that motivation is key when it comes to getting kids to practice. Kids respond to praise and really do want to please. They’re also competitive too, even if it’s just with themselves.
There will be days when kids have a case of the “I don’t wanna’s” and as the parent, know that you can keep your kids wanting to come back to the piano over and over. How you and your child’s teacher decide to motivate your kids is up to you. This can be sticker charts, tracking their practice, or simply just using words of praise. Just having someone to cheer them on is sometimes all the motivation they need.
Focus on How Your Child is Practicing
Sometimes kids are just sent home with their weekly warm-ups, songs, and music theory. As a parent, you probably know what to have your child do before the next lesson, but HOW to help them practice is a totally different thing altogether.
Focus on how your child is practicing. One of the best ways for parents to help your children practice piano is to pay attention when your child sits down at the piano. It’s not just the amount of practice time that matters. Although that is important, the quality of the practice time matters equally as much. Even if you’re not a musical person, you’ll be able to tell if your child is having a successful practice session.
Listen for things like:
- Is your child banging on the piano keys or just kind of hitting any key?
- Are they staying on the correct song or trying to move ahead to the next song?
- Do you notice them laying down on their arm or sitting and staying focused?
- Are they watching their siblings play outside or paying attention to what they’re doing?
If the child knows their parent is listening and paying attention to how they’re practicing, they will have better practice sessions and therefore make more progress.
Parent…Know that you CAN do this
Just like when I mentioned kids need motivation, parents do as well. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed with helping your child learn piano, know that you are capable of doing this. Talk with the parents of other piano students you come into contact with. This will definitely help give you a boost of confidence that you’ve been needing. You’ll realize that you’re not the first family to go through beginning piano lessons with your child.
Know that it gets easier with time as well. Eventually the entire family will fall into a routine that works for them. This won’t happen overnight, and with anything new it just takes time. Once you’ve helped guide your child in those early years of music lessons, trust the process. When your child is a little older, they’ll know what to practice and should be taking the initiative to do it on their own. You’ll still be there to support and guide them, but with time, your child should begin to find motivation to practice all on their own.
Have Parents Set Aside a Daily Practice Time
When kids are young, they need help setting up a clear time to practice. Find a time that works for your family and think about your schedule. Would right after school work best or after finishing any homework? Is right after dinner a better time? Or maybe it’s right before bed time? If there is more than one child taking piano, this is something to think about as well.
Sometimes, sticking to a strict daily schedule works for some families, and sometimes the practice time will fluctuate day to day based on what is happening that day. For example, some kids are in sports or another extracurricular activity, and the practice time might look different on those days. Whatever plan you make, know that it may not look like any other family. Every family has a unique dynamic and family structure, so don’t compare your practice routine or progress your child is making with anyone else.
As a piano parent, you’ve got this! Take it one day and one step at a time and watch just how far your child will succeed.
If you’ve been noticing your child is ready to start learning to play piano, then I would love for you to check out my online piano lessons.
