It’s His Again

A little update on the vexing guitar conundrum from months past:

As in many situations, standing way back and biting my tongue appears to have been the best approach. I still insist on the once weekly lesson, but leave the decisions around practicing completely up to him. He’d had the initial interest in lessons, and the initial enthusiasm for practicing, and I was thrilled that he was doing something he loved. It was hard to see that interest wane, and at first I did try to motivate him with charts and rewards, but as I should know by now with this particular child, the more external pressure perceived, the less internal desire felt. Kinder Eggs just weren’t enticing enough for him, and he began resisting my efforts to encourage him to practice.

Once I stopped reminding him, he stopped practicing entirely. This went on for several months, and I had to force myself to keep my mouth shut. I thought about it, and finally accepted the fact that it really was his responsibility, not mine, and if he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity he was being offered, then he didn’t. I continued to support his efforts during lessons, and shared his delight when he learned new songs, but that was it.

Now he’s begun to pick the guitar up again, and strum away in spare moments. He rummaged around in his room and found the beginners’ guitar book, and asked if I could help him set up the beginner video. Today I found him sitting at the computer trying to master the chords in his favourite Green Day song.