Relaxing With Music

Relaxing With Music

Music Lessons For Troubled Teens: What Could Your Child Be Doing Instead Of Engaging In Acts Of Delinquency?

Ambre Gauthier

It's sometimes hard not to be delinquent as a teenager, with the raging hormones, the stress of peer-pressure and everything else going on in life, but nonetheless, it's unacceptable behavior. If your teen is experiencing the typical technical difficulties associated with growing up, music lessons can redirect some of that negative energy into something more constructive. Rather than engaging in acts of delinquency, here's what your child might be doing, instead:

Gaining More Discipline

Music, whether it be sung or played, is a discipline and as such, can help your teen have more self-control in other areas of their life, like resisting impractical urges, running off with the wrong crowd, or procrastinating studying for a big test. While music won't solve all life's problems or make morphing into an adult a breeze, the structure of the learning process increases discipline, which can apply positively in nearly all aspects of your child's world.

Reducing Their Teenage Stress

Listening to and playing music is a great reliever of stress for anyone, but can be particularly beneficial to a kid who, sometimes, just wants to be left alone by the world. Absorbing themselves in the creative process should help reduce some of the pressure of growing up.

Increasing The Amount Of Patience They Have

With more discipline comes more patience and that may help in school and at home for your child. From scales to motif to tempo, learning music comes in stages and requires dedication and persistence that may be missing from your child's current character repertoire.

Improving Brain Function

Music, especially classical, can actually change the functioning of the brain. Listening, learning, and playing all promote the production of chemicals and chain reactions that improve memory, cognition, and mood--- all of which would be wonderful in just about any normal teenager.

Adding Positive Sociability To Their Lives

Playing an instrument may mean joining others in an orchestra and that's a far better place for a struggling kid to hang out in than a street corner, mall, or arcade. Music can give your child more things in common with other disciplined teens, hopefully encouraging healthier relationships (that you're more inclined to approve of than the ones you see now).

Building (Fledgling?) Self-Esteem

Even accomplished teenagers can lack self-esteem, as the hormones, peer-pressure, and need to achieve all compete for dominance; thus, it's easy to understand why a child who isn't performing up to par would be hard on themselves and not feel worthy. Learning music is an outstanding accomplishment the whole family will be proud of, including the teen in question.

Boosting Their Academic Ability

Learning music can, ultimately, lead to a huge boost in grades and classroom performance, too, if your child really dedicates themselves to the process. When the discipline and devotion to music take over, harmony often follows, including in other areas of life. 

Since the lessons likely align with an existing interest of your child, that being, music itself, it might not be too hard talking them into going. Rather than pointing out all the positive behavioral and other changes that could ensue, play up the fun and the fact that your troubled teen will be doing what people like Kanye West, Taylor Swift, and a host of their other idols are doing. Hopefully, they'll get into music classes like it's a rebellious thing, without ever realizing how beneficial they can be to character development and maturity. 


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About Me
Relaxing With Music

When I was diagnosed with a serious anxiety disorder, my therapist mentioned that music might be a great way to unwind for the day. She told me to pick some nice, soft, relaxing music and listen to it at night before I went to sleep. I was a little apprehensive to take her up on the advice, but after a few weeks I could tell that it was really working. I was able to calm down at the end of the day instead of letting my thoughts get the better of me. I have come a long way in my treatment, which is why I wanted to share my struggles with other people. Read here to learn how music might be able to help you.