I know the feeling. I better practice my piano or else I was going to get the belt.

The only thing is it made me hate piano, because it caused me pain. I know I should practice but I hated it. So yes it was my fault, but why.

With my daughter we have learned that if she has a passion for something she will do it on her own. Friday, her math teacher wrote to us and told us that her math scores were on the cusp of her going into the advanced math group at school. The week earlier she got moved into the advanced reading group but her scores were much much higher.

We decided to leave her in the regular math class, until she came home and made a plea to move into the advanced math class.

She loves to dance and will practice it on her own, but she "likes" guitar but would not practice it on her own. We dropped guitar and increased her dance lessons.

I think if my parents would have taken a similar path with me, maybe I would have found something else I loved.

Thank you for your comment which allowed me to compare and contrast my upbringing with my daughters.