Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Practice makes perfection

My DD has major problems doing things which require repeated practice to get to the perfection expected, Piano, Speech etc. Does anyone have tips/resources on how to address?

I think that it is fair to ask her piano teacher or whoever (assuming it's not you) to explicitly talk to her about how to practice. Not just "you need to practice 15 minutes a day," but "When you practice, I want you to first spend a minute breathing and relaxing your neck and shoulders. Then you should play scales, trying to make them as even in timing as possible, for 5 repetitions. Then, choose a piece of music, and decide which part of it you are going to work on - the dynamics, or the notes, or the rhythm..." (I guess I would say the same thing to you if you are the one teaching her to practice, but you could do that during practice time instead of lesson time if it is. Just make it clear that you're teaching how to practice now, not teaching the music itself.)

ElizabethN thanks for the tips. No,I am not her teacher. The issue let me try to structure. We have not being doing much structuring on anything so it will be a challange, but it sounds like the right approach

I'll second ElizabethN's advice, and also suggest not focusing on perfection, just focusing on achieving achievable goals. My other tip - rather than overthink it when she's young, see what her passions develop into - with each of my children, finding their passion is also where they found the motivation that got them through repeat repeat repeat etc.

Best wishes,

polarbear