Sit with them and guide them through their piece of music. Even if you don’t fully understand, you might get to know how the music works and be able to help your child. Maybe you could just sit and say “ready, GO!” and then clap at the end.

Bribery. Offer a tick / sticker / point / reward per practise session, which ends with a good reward at the end of the week.

Performances seem to get kids motivated to practise, because they don’t want to mess-up in front of someone. They could perform at dad’s birthday, to Nana and Grandad, a ‘special Friday night concert’ to the family, or a lounge version of X-Factor where each person does something (like the song they are practising at their music lesson)

Do they know what to practise? Make sure the teacher is giving them clear instructions of exactly what to practise. Ask the child as soon as you pick them up – they have probably just told them what to practise as they walked out the door.

Short & sweet practise sessions are good. Five minutes of fun is better than 30 minutes of torture.

Do they like what they are working on? At Music House we try to teach kids music that they like, that also has musical value, and will nurture them into great musicians. Sometimes a simple but fun tune can hook them into loving their instrument. If they are not enjoying the music they are being given to practise speak with the tutor about it.

Are they being challenged? A lot of kids love a challenge. Even musically. As soon as I say “Hmmm, this might be too hard,“ usually the kid wants to try it. If you feel they need more of a challenge to keep them interested speak with your tutor.

Have instruments available all the time. The old saying “out of sight, out of mind” is true, especially for kids. Leave a guitar in the lounge, have a piano or keyboard somewhere obvious. A piano in the lounge not only looks cool, but is great for family concerts!