I'm going to throw out a few random thoughts based on my own experience studying piano and a few experiences we've had with our kids studying piano - take them or leave them, they may apply or might not. As others have said, this is a very individual/family decision.
First me - I *loved* studying music and playing music and for a while in high school seriously considered majoring in it in college. I mention that only to make the point - I was completely in love with music, and very intrinsically motivated to study it. There were periods of time I practiced a lot every day... and there were times when I didn't want to practice but practiced anyway, and there were times when I did everything I could to avoid practicing but still took lessons anyway. I am sure my parents weren't thrilled with the periods of time I didn't feel like practicing, but they didn't take away the lessons because they felt there was value in having us stick with piano lessons. It all worked out eventually because after the period had passed, I naturally morphed back into the wanting-to-practice stage.
Next thing that happened - by the time I hit mid-high school I had spent years studying classical piano and I *loved* it - but - I was also tired of it. I had a great teacher and I liked her, but she wasn't going to be the teacher to teach me what I wanted to learn then. That's when my mom gave me a *wonderful* gift - she let me switch teachers and take jazz/rock lessons. I know it wasn't what she really wanted me to do musically, but she realized that's what I needed then for inspiration, so she asked around, found a recommendation for a great teacher, and that last year of high school I fell in love with piano all over again in an entirely new way. Ironically, those lessons in that short year also gave me the skills to be able to improvise and play anywhere anytime in a different way than all the *wonderful* years of classical piano. I can still pick up a sheet of classical music and I can sight read it well enough to play quite a bit of music, but the other lessons gave me the ability to play when I'm at someone else's house, play something that everyone knows or can sing to, that kind of thing.
Which brings me to my last random thought from my experience - once I was in college I was way to busy to practice or take lessons and I didn't have access to a piano to use even if I'd wanted to practice. When I graduated from college I had a ton of fun (as well as my first job lol). I didn't feel like practicing piano and I didn't have one of my own. Years later (literally years!) I was given my childhood piano... and I can still play it. I am not as sharp as I was as a well-rehearsed teen and I am not as inclined to practice at all - but all those years of lessons stuck with me and gave me the gift of music for life. It wasn't money wasted, even in the periods where I didn't want to practice while I was taking lessons.
Re my own kids' experience - we started all three of our kids studying piano when they were relatively young. My ds was 7, which is a pretty typical age to start, but his sisters were 5 and 3. We had no intention of starting the three year old at that time, but she's uber-competitive so it was less painful to have her take lessons than having to deal with the jealously of older sibs doing something she didn't get to do! Anyway, my ds practiced dutifully although I had to push to get him to practice more than I would like to. He never seemed terribly interested in lessons, and we actually suggested to *him* that he quit a few times over the years but he didn't want to - he would beg to continue (even though it was becoming a fight to get him to practice). We let him continue and just gave up the worry about whether or not he practiced. At around 10-11 years old he started getting fascinated with playing - but not with playing what his teacher was teaching. So we've had him continue the lessons, let him add in the things that he's interested in and we've also had him show what he's chosen to his teacher and she's been good about letting him study those things to. Giving him the option of choosing what he plays for at least part of his lessons has really ramped up his enthusiasm, and I suspect that he'll be a piano player for life.
My older dd had a lot of difficulty with her lessons at first and absolutely *hated* them and hated to practice. I didn't let her quit simply because when she sits down at the piano without anyone telling her to practice she plays her own thing - beautifully. She's clearly the most naturally musically inclined of my kids, and so with her too I just let her take the lessons and do her own thing for most of her practice time, and I never stressed out if she didn't practice. She hasn't learned as much as quickly as my ds, but she has made progress.
My youngest dd - she's begging to quit because she has a full schedule. She isn't terribly interested in piano and doesn't seem to be musically talented or musically inclined at all. I'm most likely going to let her quit. I only mention her because.... she's my child who practices without a fight!
Sooooo.. that's our completely random set of experiences. For the OP here, I'd probably let my ds continue with lessons and not stress too much about the practicing for now. I would also be really careful about the threats I make (I find this gets me into trouble quite frequently!) - I think a threat to take away something for not practicing is totally valid.. but I find myself in predicaments like this too - the logical consequence that slips out of my mouth without thinking it through carefully might happen to be something *I* don't want them to give up! Parenting can be so complicated lol!
polarbear
