Childrens violins

[laneyboo]

Could someone help me please? My DD is going to be starting violin lessons soon. She has just turned 7 and I'm wondering if I should hire a violin or buy one (she is desperate to learn and usually sticks with things once she has started) I also need to check what size to get. I know I need to measure her arm, but is that from shoulder to wrist or shoulder to finger tips? Bet you can't tell I'm not musical :o

We had all this a few years back.

We bought one from our local music shop. I was worried about the cost, but a basic starter violin all in was about £65 new as I recall, which wasn't as bad as I'd thought it was going to be.

The shop advised about what size to buy. 3 years on it's still an ok size for her. Best to take advice on which size your dd needs rather that guess. I too am not musical

I'm a school violin teacher so I may be able to help.
Can you wait until she has her first lesson with the teacher and ask then?
It's important to get the right size instrument.
If she's having lessons in school most have violins to borrow for a small fee (usually £10 per year).
Then you can buy her one when she has settled to it a bit as a treat and it will be a good incentive to get her to practice!
She might want one of the coloured kind, my DD has a purple one.
Most important thing is not to get a violin that is too big as that will make learning harder and could cause problems with her technique in future.

Thank you both for your advice. I think school do have one she could borrow for a while. Framey M-she would love the idea of a coloured violin! I'll let her start with a borrowed one and then see about getting one for her later if she practices etc. Its good to know that a violin could last that long Bendy.