How to get a young child to stay seated! Options

[hammer action]

What's the best way to get a (very young) six year old pupil to sit on the piano stool and remain there for longer than 2 minutes?! I also seem to spend a lot of the lesson steadying the stool incase the pupil falls off it. What's the best approach for this? Stickers? Rewards? Something i've not encountered before on such a constant basis! Thanks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[porilo]

Thankfully I've never had that problem with any of mine, but here is one suggestion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m-8lombEs

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Roseau]

What's the child like at school?

Talking to the parents might help as they have probably developed strategies to cope (I speak from experience (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) ). My younger daughter found it particularly hard to stay seated when she was tired (it was almost as if she needed to move to keep herself awake) - I don't know what time the lesson is but it might be better at another time.

Interspersing very vigorous movement with seated activities would probably help too. (Like jumping on the spot to the beat rather than marching to the beat).

As for falling off the stool, my daughter was taught to play almost standing (ie just resting her bottom against the edge of the stool).

[BarbaraR]

Maybe this particular child is just a wee bit too young for formal lessons and another year would bring her back less 'fidgity'?

[Cyrilla]

How about saying, 'Sit still!'???

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[violincjj]

Why not take the piano stool away and have her stand up to play?

[LizzieT]

I don't think it should be your responsibility to deal with this. I'd insist the parent sits in on the lessons and ensures the child stays seated. Also it might be wise to limit the lesson to 20 minutes. I had this problem recently with a 6-year old but thanks to the mother's support, he has improved hugely and now stays on the stool for the whole lesson.

[jod]

How about using this to your advantage and encorporating some Eurthymics into the lesson to teach musicianship and inforce rhythm training.

Then, as Cyrilla says, ask her to sit still, (using a firm but kind tone) when she is sitting at the piano.

Humour is also a useful tool. Fidgets are often referred to as having 'ants in their pants'. It will probably make her giggle, but it will make her remember that fidgetting is not acceptable.

I would also work hard on the eye contact and smiling. It is normally very successful at this age. (When the child looses focus, you will be playing aeroplane eyes with them, but that is the time to get them to play something and then catch 'em being good.

[ansatz496]

Why not take the piano stool away and have her stand up to play?

Because it develops poor technique in terms of arm/wrist angle? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) Though I suppose it might be a temporary solution...

[Roseau]

Why not take the piano stool away and have her stand up to play?

Because it develops poor technique in terms of arm/wrist angle? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) Though I suppose it might be a temporary solution...

For a child who is not very tall, then what my daughter was taught to do (not quite stand but just have her bottom resting against the stool) means that the wrist is at the correct angle. It has the advantage of preventing leg swinging and also meant that she could use the pedal long before she would have been able to reach it had she been sitting properly on the stool at the correct height for her.

[JudithJ]

I don't have a solution for the OP. However, if a teacher had told me to sit still when I was a child, then I would either have been unable to do so, or I would have sat still but then not been able to concentrate on the work.

I used to play with BluTac during lessons (not music lessons). Some teachers took it away, and found that I then didn't pay attention.

I must have been a nightmare child!

[Maizie]

I used to play with BluTac during lessons (not music lessons). Some teachers took it away, and found that I then didn't pay attention.

I must have been a nightmare child!

Heeheehee, they should have used the BluTac to stick you to the chair (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[Cyrilla]

I would just like to inform the forum that JudithJ is very good at Sitting Still in my lessons.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[ansatz496]

Why not take the piano stool away and have her stand up to play?

Because it develops poor technique in terms of arm/wrist angle? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) Though I suppose it might be a temporary solution...

For a child who is not very tall, then what my daughter was taught to do (not quite stand but just have her bottom resting against the stool) means that the wrist is at the correct angle. It has the advantage of preventing leg swinging and also meant that she could use the pedal long before she would have been able to reach it had she been sitting properly on the stool at the correct height for her.

Right, that is true, and now that I think of it I have seen many small children do this. I guess I didn't start playing properly until I was 10+ and a bit larger, so I wasn't thinking of it that way. Thanks for the clarification!

[jod]

Writing as a person who is vertically challenged and has short legs. It is actually really quite uncomfortable sitting with your legs dangling, let alone not particularly good ergonomically.

I'm sure the reason I was a fidget was that most chairs left me suspended in mid-air and I just could not get comfortable. You can get pedal extenders that allow the child to sit more comfortable, otherwise a box the right size to rest the feet on is a move in the right direction.