The middle school years can have their challenges. This article is first in a series about teaching & parenting music students during the teen years. 

Middle school is both a wonderful age and a challenging age. 

In my parent talks, I always start talking about this age group by saying:

Never before has your child needed more positivity and encouragement, and never before has it been so hard challenging to do so.

This isn’t true for every child, all the time. But in general, this is the age where students start to strive more for independence. They also start to become more concerned with what their peers think (rather than their parents).

This is a normal part of their development. Rather than be offended at these changes, we can work with where they are developmentally.

For further reading I recommend reading this article about how to motivate middle school students http://www.teachhub.com/how-motivate-students-tips-middle-schoolers

Here are a few things I think really help when communicating with our middle school children and students: 

1.Keep it positive

If parents and their children are arguing about practice at home at this age, I encourage parents to let me know right away. I think it is wise to let the teacher be the one who delivers constructive feedback. As a parent, I encourage you to stick to positive and supportive comments. Your relationship with your child is more important than a perfect practice session.