Bad Habits and mistakes

As to the title topic.

If you have followed my narrative in the Guitars and Accessories section, You have read that the boys are getting back into music, one on drums and one on guitar. 

I opted to get Cory started on lessons yesterday vice waiting a week.  I am very glad I did.  This brings up the "Bad Habits".
He has good rhythm, and was trying to expand on what he learned in band. So after a few introductions with his new instructor, they were off.  Cory discovered that what he thought he knew was all the wrong things when it came to kick and 3 different things at one time.  He was eager but I could see the frustration level as he was stopped and corrected.  His instructor was firm but never "uncool" .  So Cory learned what he was doing wrong and what new mussel memory he  has to work on.  I was also allowed to record the whole lesson so we would not get home and practice all week and find out what we thought sounded correct was still wrong.  By 11 pm last night when I got home from my band  practice, (we ate BBQ and fiddled with the acoustics lolol) He had the Kick, snare, and  cymbal lesson down pretty good.   Then I put him on a click.  It was hard for him and he quit using it, I told him he may not notice a difference, but that I defiantly could.   The instructor was not worried about it at this point since his goal is to teach new muscle memory, so I did not argue with him other than noting he played better with it.  He also told Cory to practice till he hated the lesson and practice some more.  Also, Like many of us he was over thinking and trying too hard.   He was told to quit thinking and start listening.  (I had to choke back a laugh because Jerome and Alan are ALWAYS saying that to me!   lol )
After we left, I asked him "Would you have let me talk to you like that when yo messed up?"  "Nope"  LOLOL 

Topic two, Is a perceived mistake really a mistake?

I bring this up because on Saturday night, I asked Cade (the older boy) if he wanted to learn some simple 3 chord songs just to get him having fun and break him out of the rut of4 other songs he remembered from his lessons 4 years ago or so.
My goal was to get him to start using more open chords and correct fingering of strings.

We started off with Simple Man. and he was catching on pretty good but in my mind was playing the Am part "wrong".  I stopped and showed it to him again and he was not hearing anything different between me and him.  As my insistence grew stronger on "what needed to be played" verse what he was playing started to increase he was about to just get pissed at dad and also reminded me it had been 4 yrs since he has really played anything new.   So I backed off and said , ok hold on, Yes you can play it your way, but maybe try it doing the pull off this way, and WALA!  He had it.  Then we banged around on Needle and the spoon, Hey Joe and All along the watchtower. 
What did dad learn? Some mistakes are not really important and can become someones style.  Learning needs to stay fun! something I forgot while being a "Teacher" and then I also heard my own words come back at me though he did not know I have made some of the exact statements he made.  This was the PALM TO FOREHEAD moment.
He said he had a good time, and I hope he did.  I also had to tell him 3 of the biggest things he needed to work on was,  #1 cut left hand fingernails and fret with tips not flats especially on open chords. #2 Get your elbow off your leg! LOL and #3 Use alt picking and strums #4 SLOW DOWN.

Trying to teach my kids is different, cause lets face it, they naturally want to tell you you are wrong! LOLOL  For me it was a lesson in regaining patients and not  trying to be THAT GUY who is hard on his kids  for his own short comings, like many sideline fathers at football.   I hope for my kids to love the music as much as I do, and yes I hope they play better and do more with it than I have. That is  what all parents want for their kids right?

Thanks for making it down this far if you did read all that.  Feel free to join the topic

Cheers Everyone!