ethan at the keys

Ethan is taking piano lessons again. I won't make the same mistake I made the last time. That is, I won't force him to practice.

That may sound a bit odd. And it does, in some ways, it goes against a my instinct. But I've learned my lesson. Some years ago, Ethan took piano lessons. He had some innate talent. And it bothered me that he wasn't practicing. When I was growing up, the girls two houses down took piano, and had a strict practice regimen. And all my other experience is that, when kids take lessons on an instrument, they have to practice. A lot. So I insisted that he practice. If I was paying all this money for lessons, he should practice so the money isn't wasted. Well, he liked the lessons, but didn't want to practice. So he quit.

Now, years later, we've talked about it a few times. And I agreed not to try to force him to practice. I'd love it if he does, but I don;t want to force him and risk killing whatever interest he has. Will that mean it'll take longer for him to learn? Probably. But him learning slowly is better than him not learning.