What Age should my child start piano lessons?

​A very common question that parents ask is what age should my child start learning piano? 
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There is much discussion amongst teachers about this topic. Some like to start children very young – 3 or 4 years old. Others say 5 or 6 years old. And others say not before 7 or 8. Who is correct? Well, there is not one right answer. Everything comes back to the child. So, I’ll try and give a summary of what teachers say.

Age 3-4
Some teachers start teaching piano to children who are 3-4.
There is necessarily a lot of focus on musical appreciation, musical activities and musical games. These might include moving in time to the music, using hands and feet in time with the music, tapping the beat with a percussive instrument, singing, learning some basic pieces from memory. Students can learn finger numbers, piano alphabets and finding the keys.
These activities are often undertaken in a class group of 3-4 students. Parent involvement is a must in that they need to attend the class/lesson, and parents need to spend time at home going over what has been done in class.
Some main drawbacks of formal piano lessons at this age are: development of hand dexterity will limit what can be played comfortably; hand strength and co-ordination are not usually adequate; the length of attention span is often short, but this can vary a lot between children; inability to read, which can also vary between children.

Age 5-6
A lot more teachers are happy to start teaching piano to children in this age range. 6 is often more preferred than 5. Musical activities can take up more of individual lesson time than formal learning because attention span can still be limited, and the size of the hand and hand dexterity can limit what can be played.
By this age students have usually developed a basic understanding of reading and counting. Some 5 years olds can learn to read music before learning to read words.
Students will still need a lot of parental involvement. It is very important for parents to attend lessons and to actively supervise practice at home.

Age 7-8
This is the preferred age for piano lessons to start for many teachers. Hands are bigger and dexterity is developing.
By this age, students are usually reading well, basic maths is understood, the difference between right and left is known, and homework tasks are usually managed well. Concentration ability has increased.
Ideally, parental involvement will still supervise practice at home, and make sure the student is practicing what is required. Some students really benefit from this help at home. It is good if the parent sits in on the lesson at least once a term to know how to help the student.
 
Age 9-11
This is also a great age to start learning piano. These students generally progress quickly. 

Summary
7 to 8 is a good age to start lessons. 5 and 6 year olds should display a high level of interest. Ideally, a parent would sit in on lessons and, be able to facilitate a high level of supervision at home during the week.

Many parents prefer to hold their children back from school, and send them when they have turned 6, rather than 5. Many of these arguments will also apply to learning piano. If a child is advanced in musical ability, it does not necessarily correlate to the ability to practice with the attention to detail to obtain the skills and technique required for a higher level of piano.