Getting your child into the habit of practicing an instrument is not for the faint of heart. We get it. The struggle is real. It can be tempting to white knuckle it and resort to the tried-and-true parent strategies of nagging, pleading, bribing and plain old “dropping the hammer”. However, may we suggest a more cunning tactic? One that goes by the unassuming name of “habit stacking”?
Developed by Stanford professor, BJ Fogg (see his work at tinyhabits.com), and later coined by author James Clear, of Atomic Habits fame, habit stacking is a not-so-distant cousin of Pavlovian theory. The dog hears the bell (cue), the dog salivates (habit). Except in the case of habit stacking, we employ one well-established habit (cue) to create another. James Clear outlines the habit stacking formula like this:
“After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”
For example:
Right after walking the dog [CURRENT HABIT], Cindy practices the piano [NEW HABIT].
Right after dinner [CURRENT HABIT], Joey plays his guitar [NEW HABIT].
You can even use environmental cues to reinforce the new habit. For instance, you could strategically park your child’s guitar by the dinner table increases the likelihood that the habit of dining will cue the new habit of practicing the guitar.
Encouraging a child’s music habit can understandably appear daunting to the uninitiated. However, by simply leveraging your offspring’s current habits, the process can be far from odious. And who knows? You might just develop a few new parenting habits along the way. Have a tip for your fellow My Music Bridge parents? Don’t hold back. Follow us at https://www.facebook.com/mymusicbridge1 to join the conversation.
