How to Buy your Kid's First Drum

So your kid has taken an interest in drums. What do you do? I'll tell you what my folks did for me way back when. By the way, I've been playing professionally for 28 years. They did something right.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A kid
• Money
• Patience

1. Relax. Breathe. You're OK. The first thing to do when your child tells you they can't live without drums is to not panic.
2. Don't rush out and buy the largest, most expensive drum kit you can find. After all, this may just be a phase. The first thing to buy is a pair of drum sticks and a practice pad. This will only set you back around $35 to $40.
3. Start looking at the possibility of buying them a snare drum if after a few months he still has the bug. The sales staff at the music shop will show you examples. But, be prepared to dish out a few more dollars. I advise finding a good used one first.
4. Know that if your kid has gone through a dozen pair of sticks from constantly beating her snare and is sleeping with it (like I did), it's official; she wants a drum kit. Yes, this includes cymbals. Again, look for a good used kit that may get her through the first few years. You may need to buy brand new cymbals, but there are tons of brands that make inexpensive lines of them for beginners. Something that your budding little Neil Peart will learn her chops on is all she will need at this point.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to encourage them.
• Be ready for hours and hours of them practicing in your home.
• Do not drop thousands of dollars on your kid's first set. He may get tired of them very soon and you're left trying to sell a used drum set. Even if it's only a week old.