Navigating the Rough Patches With Parental Support

There are a few examples of some excellent parental support that my students have experienced recently:

The first is a student was telling me about all that she as learned in the past year we have worked together. She included her mom in her descriptions, saying "Sometimes when I tell my mom my songs are too hard, she tells me to just keep trying and it will get better. And not to give up!" What great advice!! And its impact was made even greater by the fact that the student realized it was something helpful to her. I know many times parents feel as if their advice is going in one ear and out the other - but fear not! Your children are listening, and they may not tell you this all the time, but your advice is something helpful that they appreciate!!

The second example of some great parental support was one day where a student had an emotional day, and it came out in the lesson with some tears and sadness. Mom was there to offer some really good support - being there and being a calm presence. We all three talked about being okay with mistakes and helped her to be able to relax and continue the lesson. One of the most insightful pieces of advice that mom had to her daughter was to let her know that because most things come easily to her, learning how to deal with things that don't come easily is an important skill to learn. And I realized that for most of her year of lessons I did not have to make many corrections. It has helped me to pay attention and approach mistakes differently with this student so that they are not so intimidating.

Other examples of parental support are

• Making a quiet and comfortable space to practice
• Encouraging practice as something positive and fun
• Giving advice about practicing
• Appreciating the music they are playing by applause, smiles, etc!