Parent Handbook
The Role of the Parent
A Suzuki parent's role is to be a good model of enthusiasm, love of music, and to create a home environment most conducive to learning for your child.
The parent's job falls into two parts at home, and two parts in the studio
At Home
- Play the CD for as many hours a day as possible. Aim for a minimum of two hours/day. Do not expect or ask your child to put on the CD. Ear training is a parallel to language learning. The more your child hears the CD, the faster and easier his progress will be. (See section on Listening).
- Initiate the home practice and be a s creative as possible about seeing that the points presented in the lesson are mastered so that your child can go to his next lesson and show the teacher. Show lots of enthusiasm for music. Practice every day. Tell other people in your child's hearing how excited and happy you are to be studying the piano with your child.
At the Studio
- Be a quiet and supportive observer during your child's lesson. Always assume your child will have a good lesson. Do not make excuses or make negative comments, "He's so tired today, I don't know how his lesson will go," or "We've had a bad week," etc. You may think you're being helpful, or honest, but what you're doing is planting an idea in your child's mind that may not have been there. Many children are energized and have a terrific lesson even though, to adult logic, they are tired, sick, etc. Please do not prompt or answer for your child.
- Observe another lesson each month. Do not read, knit, pay bills, bring in your cell phone, etc. while in the studio. If you want to teach your child to pay attention, we must be the models for this behavior. It is a good practice to relax and quietly observe at all lessons.