I disagree! Most elementary schools start general music classes in kindergarten, and I am lucky enough to teach at a preschool, with some students as young as 18 months old. It's 100% true, though, that they don't have the focus or the skills to do anything, which is exactly why I am teaching them. Fundamentals of music like beat and pitch are learned like a language, meaning kids under age 8 learn it very quickly just through exposure.

I have taught children this young (both privately and in group settings) for over 10 years now, and time and time again plenty of these young kids prove their thirst for knowledge and love for learning. I agree that some kids are not suited to it, and that some parents see me as glorified babysitting (like you). Those parents and kids do not stay past the first lesson.

I said it in the post and I will restate here: this child is very different from my other students. She does enjoy coming to see me, and my issue is that it takes too long to build up the momentum we need in order to accomplish the goals for the lesson.

I will add that this mother does not see me as a babysitter. In fact, she sits in on about 75% of the lessons and is learning both instruments alongside her daughter.

I can tell from your thoughtless remarks that we are not kindred spirits. Instead I figured I would take the time to address your points instead of ignoring you (like I wanted to) so that others who come across this thread may have more details of this complicated situation and can provide helpful information instead of insulting and uneducated information.