learning an instrument - what's your position on practising?

[elliott]

ds1 is just 7 and has started to learn the guitar (his choice of instrument, my idea that he might like to start one now).
We are running into a lot of resistance to practice, and I'm worried that this is going to put him off. On the one hand, I don't think there is any point learning an instrument if you don't practise, but on the other I wonder if I have unrealistic expectations?
I don't know whether to:

• let him carry on having lessons but not do any practice (but then he will make very slow progress)
• stop the lessons and wait until he is a bit older before we try again (but then am I letting him get the idea that you just drop these things?)

-be stricter about insisting on practice? And if so how without it becoming a point of conflict? I mean the last thing I want is for him to feel forced and turned off, but on the other hand I do think that there's not a lot of point in doing it without practice.

I agree blue shoes. My mother was eager for me to do ballet which I downright refused but would not have a piano (gm would have given it to us) in the house

Now my dd is crazy for ballet

I can only say, wait til they are 15 & learning sax, trumpet or electric guitar. I'm not absolutely certain that my parents suddenly had exciting ideas for things to do whenever I got my tenor sax out, but I do know that I wasn't allowed to practice unless I had a duster stuffed in the end because it made the dog howl too much. Funnily enough, I was dead keen and played it lots . . .

I'm a big softie . DD does group violin lessons for fun (works out as a fiver each, including instrument hire). She almost never practises. I don't have it in me to nag or coerce, and she's not bothered. She's the only one of my 3 school-age DC who does an activity outside of ordinary school hours, so... I let it go.
As long as I know she does violin for fun, I don't expect her to achieve anything, it's okay, I could spend the same amount for her to do Brownies or any other thing that I wouldn't really expect her to ever get 'good' at.

ljkk - that's okay as long as nobody else in the group practises. The very small amount of group teaching I do - I work on the assumption that no practise will be done between times. If a child is falling behind - I may ask them to have a go at the bars I mark before the next class so they can keep up. If a child is forging ahead I suggest a private lesson.