how do you encourage you child to practice their instrument?

yep - mine do 10-15 min a day piano practise or theory work out of habit now - but now DD14 is doing her grade 5 she has become "good enough" to pick up the tunes of her favourite rock/punk tracks and play them incessantly (fall out boy in particular, on never ending loop)

but it does help with getting her to practise if she does her 10 min then goes off on her own tack - sometimes for an hour or so.......

It would be helpful to know how old your DC is. Not sure what you mean by "the push strategy", but I really feel it's unreasonable to expect a child under 10 to just be motivated and practise by themselves. Sit with them and listen to them. Until they reach a level of competence with their instrument it isn't that much fun, TBH, so you need to nag, cagole, threaten, bribe - whatever it takes. You must be really firm about this if you want an accomplished musician.

In the early years of learning an instrument it's as much (perhaps more) about the parent's commitment, than the pupil's. That may sound tiger motherish, but it's realistic.

Practically, I also think it's easier to do a short(ish) practice every day than to schedule longer ones a few times a week. Then it becomes routine - sort of like brushing teeth.

It is a slog at first as it often hurts and you sound rubbish. I would listen and watch for a couple of mins a night. An audience is nice if you don't comment. Then, as soon as they are allowed get them in a group or orchestra as this is an hour of practice, plus it really spurs you to practice when you know you will be playing in front of your peers each week. And kids do have to be told to do it, reminded, cajoled a bit until they find the joy of playing because it is fun and sounds good.

Younger children- have a routine, stick to very short sessions.

Older ones - if they are motivated they should be able to practice unsupervised, and I'm not sure why anyone would pay for lessons if motivation is absent.

When dd was younger I gave her an ultimatum - no practice no lessons - and she did end up dropping her first instrument. It was a good decision though as 6 months later she took up a different instrument which turned out to suit her better and she now plays three instruments (and does play a lot, although not always what you would call "practice").

My DS practises as soon as he comes in from school.. It is part of his routine. He might only do 2-3 minutes a night.

I also told him if he couldn't self motivate I would no longer pay as he couldn't learn an instrument once a week in a half hour lesson..

This is far better than I had a few months ago. I want him to practise but enjoy it but as he hasn't long started he doesn't have much he can practise

Bribery for dd1 and nagging for dd2. But usually I just leave them to it as their teacher seems to be much more on the ball than the one they had last year and she's better at motivating them to practice than I am.

I treat it a bit like reading, not too much but it is non negotiable. If I am going to pay for lessons there is not much point if they never pick it up from one week to the next. Both dc like playing and going to orchestra etc, even though sometimes there is conflict about practice.

blimmin spell checker thing.

I do know it should be a c!!

How old?

DS1 has been learning an instrument for 18 months now. He would never practice, I think because he found it frustrating.

Something has clicked with him now (he's 9.5yo) and he won't stop playing the damned thing

I never practised when I was a kid and I now play at a professional level, so I never stressed too much about ds if I'm honest. His teacher also confessed to having never practised as a kid either!