Are you the parent of a young piano student? Do you find that getting your child to pracice is kind of a pain. Well, you might find this hard to believe, but encouraging your child taking piano lessons to practice doesnt have to be a struggle. Here are five things you can do that really make a difference.

1. Establish a routine practice time. This will help to build the practice habit. Consistency is important so make sure you do your part by being home at that time so your child can practice.

2. Start with a relatively short practice time such as ten minutes a day. It is better to practice daily than to skip many days and only practice right before the next lesson. This may result in a happy piano teacher, but over the long run your child will learn more through consistent effort throughout the week. Compare this to cramming for a test the day before or building a solid base of long-term knowledge you can continue to build on over time.

3. As your child gains more piano knowledge and playing ability gradually stretch the practice time to 15 to 20 minutes, then 25 to 30 minutes as the difficulty of their playing assignments increases.

4. Be sure that you get your child to their weekly piano lessons. This is very important for consistent practice. When students skip their lessons hey get the impression that piano lessons are not very important and their commitment to practice diminishes. Plus the encouragement and direction students receive from their piano teacher each week sets a goal for students to achieve over the next week.

5. Be sure your child comes to their piano lessons with all their music books. When students come to lessons without their books, piano teachers cannot follow through on important foundational skills that young students need to know to learn new pieces of music. When students have the basics they are more confident and thus more likely to practice at home. Students who frequently come to lessons without their books are confused about what to do at home, and are much less likely to practice.

It takes for children time to learn how to apply themselves to their lessons. When parents do what they can do, however, this process progresses a lot more smoothly for kids. When young students know what the piano expectations are and have the commitment of their parents, it is easier for them to commit to regular practice. So, parents, now that you know how easy it is to help your child learn to practice, don't forget to do it!