The other day our youngest daughter asked if she could give up learning the violin. Her reasoning was that she was finding it boring and also difficult because, at the moment, she learns the piano and the recorder as well. Learning so many instruments turns out to be confusing!
Of course, we agreed. We always thought that three instruments was quite a lot to handle! But this got me thinking about what we would do if our other child asked to give up the violin. She only plays the one instrument, but is quite keen, playing in the orchestra and also singing in the choir.
Realistically, I'm sure we would agree to her giving up. There really doesn't seem to be much point in forcing someone to do something that they don't enjoy. But in some ways it would be a hard decision -- not only has she learnt to play the violin, but she's also learnt to read music, gained an appreciation of of a wide range of music, and been given the opportunity to perform. All these fringe benefits are valuable and the longer she plays, the greater the benefits become.
Yet another parental dilemma!
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