What I tell Parents about Digital Pianos

I teach piano in a music store (one of my many "jobs"), and often have parents ask me about their kids taking piano, but all they have is a digital keyboard.

I tell them several things:

1. An excellent quality acoustic (i.e. grand or upright, not a spinet or console) is the best choice - BUT they have price and maintenance issues that many people don't want to deal with.
2. Second choice would be an excellent quality digital - with 88 weighted keys, excellent quality speakers. They will need to add a piano-style sustain pedal and a keyboard stand (if the keyboard doesn't already have one). The downside is that it will last around a decade, whereas an acoustic will last the rest of their lives. (For some, this last statement is a disadvantage of acoustic pianos!)
3. Third choice, and definitely last, is the el-cheapo keyboard that is so common. For some parents, though, all they want to spend - indeed, all they may be ABLE to spend, is $150 on a little dinky one. I explain the limits they are putting on the child - and I require that the keys be full-size. I also explain that the child will outgrow it in less than a year, but $150 is all some parents can spend on the keyboard.

I am also trying to get parents to hook their keyboards up to the computer, explaining the capabilities that gives the child. I have had limited success, because most of my parents have Windows machine, which are difficult to setup for MIDI operation. The Mac side is so much easier, so my Mac-using parents are more likely to take advantage of it.