As a parent, you are instrumental to your children's development, and you may have a more significant role than you think. Studies have shown that some of the most critical metrics to understand children's psychological behavior include early socialization at home. Parental influences play crucial roles in developing a child's cognitive behaviors and dissonances, such as achievements, attitudes, and learnings. You are imperative in your child's ongoing success in all areas of education, including those done in formal and informal institutions, which develop both intellectual and emotional intelligence.
Recent research showed that motivations to be competent and successful primarily rely on societal forces from parents. In other words, parent-child interactions influence children's learning distinctively. Parents, as their role models, have to enable their children's innate psychological needs to feel:
1. Competent
When parents perceive their children as competent, it will automatically embed confidence and a sense of competency among children. They are likely to engage and complete tasks, utilize their earned skills and strategies, persist when confronted with difficulties, and eventually achieve success.
2. Autonomous
Children have a fundamental need to be independent and to make choices autonomously. Parents who support their children's autonomy are more likely to raise children who are self-regulated and self-contained. Eventually, they will show traits of greater competence, confidence, and responsibility for their actions.
3. Related
Parents need to build an environment of a strong, loving bond with their children. When a caring, warm, and non-threatening environment has happened, high levels of intrinsic motivations occur in learning, whether in school and everyday life. In contrast, a non-caring and threatening growing environment regresses a child's intrinsic motivations.
4. Purposeful
Your children need to feel that what they learn is meaningful and valuable, and relatable to their personal goals. This success and enjoyment are imperative to grow a sense of purpose, which eventually motivates them to succeed. As a parent, your role is to encourage their failures in learning and advancing consistently.
All of these are applicable in music, too.
Music education goes larger than playing an instrument. Rather than sitting and memorizing lessons from school, every music lesson individually or collectively works to produce a beautiful concert. In other words, being in a music school trains your child to be more capable in patience, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking. When they have successfully produced a beautiful melody, their competence, sense of purpose, and confidence will grow. In other words, playing music in a nurturing environment with their peers, will assist the maturity of their sense of responsibility and again, the ever-important self-confidence. It also gives them a form of self-expression and stress management assistance. I can assure you the accuracy for the latter, as my first student back when I was 16 is still resorting to the piano when she feels under pressure.
As a music educator, I have witnessed success stories in skills development by music. I am also a big believer that music gives a holistic education; it does not only boost motor and cognitive skills, but also constructs social and self-development skills. I remembered seeing some of my students not only have grown to be gifted musicians, but they were also confident and caring, as they scored well in school. They grew to be an accomplished individual in both classrooms and outside of it.
Also, do you know that they could perform exceptionally well with their parents' support? As mentioned above, when they feel related at home or in class, it will skyrocket their sense of confidence to the roof, hence creating a sense of purpose. I remembered a student’s parents asking me about their children's homework constantly. They were also asking me about exam schedules and how exactly their children should prepare for them.
In contrast, I had also encountered many parents who were not confident that their children would excel in their music lessons because they were not musicians themselves. That, in my opinion, is not a problem. As I wrote before, with a great musician comes determined, consistent practices. If you, as a parent, think that you cannot support your child genetically in music, you may be able to play your part by reminding rules and participating in their classes. For instance, you can constantly inquire about their music classes or even compliment beautiful tunes they have just played, even if they make mistakes.
Additionally, I have also experienced parents who refused to get their children musical instruments at home for practice. They said that they would only get those instruments if only their children had reached a certain level of capability. This notion is utterly adverse to what I had stated above. Your child cannot become a great musician without consistent practice; in other words, your children must have an instrument at home for their progress. You don't need to get an expensive one, and the cheapest one will do for now! If you’re not confident about spending high on a piano you can even rent one with us.
Do you have any other questions? Don’t be scared to inquire within!
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