Having children of my own I can see how they have benefited from having access to guitars and other musical instruments as they’ve grown up. We’ve never pushed them toward learning to play an instrument like piano or violin. Instead they’ve been allowed to develop their own interest, just as I was, and this approach has clearly been good for them.
Our youngest son has shown no interest in making music whatsoever. He is a very keen sportsman, loves football and online gaming. However his older brother was bashing out rhythms on a toy drum kit from about the age of three. By the time he’d reached seven he was regularly jamming, with me on guitar, on his little child size drum kit.
My daughter has a particularly rebellious personality and she has always liked to challenge both her mother and me, ever since she was a toddler. She has developed a keen interest in Drum and Bass and recently started to get into DJing and playing records at extremely high volume levels, upsetting our aged neighbours. Her interest in DJ equipment and modern dance music has led to her developing skills in music production using computers and it’s looking like she will progress to a music technology course at college.
We think that our parental influence is very significant in the interests and inclinations of our children. We’ve tried to encourage them to be independent while ensuring that boundaries are clearly defined. As they grow through their teenage years their independence and self reliance is becoming increasingly apparent. We just wish that our daughter would play her dance music a little more quietly and stop upsetting our neighbours.
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