10 Ways to Motivate and Help Your Child Practice

Posted: February 12, 2021
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Motivating children to study might be challenging sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible at all. We understand that as a parent you are concerned that your children acquire knowledge properly and obtain the best possible results. That is why your participation in their training will also be very important for their performance. With these tricks that we will present below, you will make your child feel motivated when studying and practicing.

When a child takes on the challenge of learning a new instrument, their results will be subject to two very important factors: their learning capacity and motivation for studying. If you are having problems with the second factor, these tips to motivate children to study will come in very handy:

Attractive environment: The environment in which the child studies or practices, must be comfortable and
attractive to play (this is very important!) Make it a fixed place. The “study/practice corner” can be decorated and made their own.
Organization: The first thing is to determine the timing that the child will dedicate to study. It is important to be realistic to start. In other words, it’s better to start with a reasonable time of study that the child can endure instead of starting to set too long or demanding schedules, especially if you have never managed to establish minimum study and practice habits before. If you feel like your child needs more time to fulfill the objectives, try to do it progressively.
It will also help to organize who will be the one to support them if necessary, mom, dad, grandfather, etc. Let them learn to work at their own pace without needing a parent’s order. Sometimes it’s necessary and helpful having parents there as well, but we want to start to cultivate independence and discipline.
Breaks: If your child is having a hard time focusing, you can give them breaks in between. You can offer a
delicious but nutritive snack that recharges them with energy to resume their studying. Try not to use the cell
phone at the time of studying, even at rest, because it is a big distraction. Let them take the break as a reward for study hours.
Motivation: Discuss with your child different experiences of other successful musicians, orchestral directors, producers. This will allow your child to understand that their effort will bear fruits in the end and it will be worth studying to do so. Watching documentaries and interviews can also be part of their training and… why not? With study time, keep in mind that motivation is the key to your child’s success.
Celebrate small achievements: Recognizing the effort and celebrate your kid’s achievements is highly important. Phrases as simple as “I am very proud of you” or “I knew you were able to do it” are very important words for the child. It’s also a good idea to capture the achievement in a visible way like a drawing on the fridge, this will cause the child to visualize their achievement of this goal and always keep it in mind. For young musicians, we can make recordings from our phone and send it to family and friends.
Dealing with failure: In these cases, it is best to encourage them to continue and get ahead. You cannot make the mistake of comparing their ability with that of a brother or son of a close person who has better results. Remember that each child has their own learning time and process.
Comment: You should not comment in public on whether your child is under-performing. The only thing that will cause is that the child feels humiliated and will become completely unmotivated, so they will be less encouraged to study or practice.
Be active: It is positive that children see their parents attend the meetings and performances, that they participate in the activities and that they collaborate with the teachers constantly. This causes the child to feel that you care about them and want them to feel comfortable. Play duets and chamber music with your music teachers. We have some of the best teachers, take advantage of all of the musical resources Classic Studios has.
Rewards or Bribery: If you offer an award for an achievement, you should make sure it is to their liking. Rewards don’t have to be things, but they can be experiences like we get to watch a concert as a family or go and take a walk. Better even, small rewards for short-term achievement. So that these prizes do not become customary, offer them when you want the child to complete a task or test that might be challenging.
Remember: Each child has their own capacity for understanding and their time to mature. Motivating children to study is vitally important so that they can achieve each one of their goals. Parents must support and accompany them so that they don’t become discouraged in any situation.

These tips and tricks, if utilized, will make a big difference in the progress of your child’s music education. See how many you can add to what you have already been doing! Then enjoy the music filling your home!

10 Ways to Motivate and Help Your Child Practice

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