Parents continually encourage their children to do the things essential for life, such as avoiding too many sweets or wearing sensible shoes in slippery conditions, but provide a small guitar or drum set and you'll soon have your child enthralled for as long as you need.

Of course one problem is that musical instruments can be costly. Few would suggest letting a young child learn to make music with your Stradivarius and even a a hardy piano will show signs of abuse if left in the hands of boisterous kids. That's why manufacturers provide specialist children's versions of many instruments. They are definitely not false alternatives, but are designed and priced to suit young children.

Construction methods differ for kids instruments. Because quality of sound might not be the major consideration, kids' instruments can be built a good deal more hard-wearing, with stronger materials, hardier strings and other such features. Buying a low cost alternative means less heart-ache when replacing damaged items. That's not to say they shouldn't be cared for, but the inescapable fact is that children are a sterner test for fragile items, and less able to see the consequences of their actions (some will even set out the destruction quality).

Instruments which are less difficult to play also helps. This is really important, because you don't want to make the challenge more difficult than necessary, frustration is more likely to set in. Ease of use can include anything from having narrower hand holds to having the notes printed on the instrument itself. The size of the instrument comes under this category too. Most instruments have reduced-size versions designed to be played by smaller fingers and mouths. Unless you're looking for a birthday gift surprise, it's a good idea to go shopping with the child to try the fit first. It's not unusual for children's instruments to have fewer notes as well as being smaller, for example keyboards might have fewer octaves and could be monophonic to make sure there are fewer automatic modes to distract the child. Learning options and programmes are also part of some instruments, particularly keyboards.

Combining music with games and fun always helps. Every teacher of kids knows how crucial it is to include fun in the proceedings, and this applies to learning music too. This can be something as obvious as having brightly coloured instruments – a bold pattern or kid's characters, for example. Commercial branding has also encompassed kid's instruments, and a well known cartoon character can encourage a hesitant child.

Suitable sized and designed instruments can only help with getting children interested in playing music. Just think, with all these new options we might get even more challengers in the Young Musician of the Year awards in the future.