What does my child need to know before beginning lessons?

Students should be able to say their alphabet (from A at least) and know how to count to 5 before beginning lessons.
It helps if your child has an interest in music, but even if they do not visibly show it by singing or dancing often, most children find that they enjoy playing after just a couple of months of lessons!

As a parent, how much do I have to be involved in the lessons?

It is up to you as a parent to make practicing part of your daily schedule. Within a few months, most young students realize that while it takes work to learn to play music, it has very satisfying results.

You must have the time to set aside time each day to practice with your child to offer encouragement and a guiding hand. Most young children are not as motivated as older children to do the correct kind of practice: part of the music lesson process at young ages is to help develop attention to detail & attention span for practice, as well as patience with themselves as the learning process is new to them.