Kevin M. said

If your daughter is anything like me, hearing a metronome doesn't help.  I have to see the tempo which means I have the old style metronome.  Mine is just an old box that clicks off the tempo and flashes a light but I prefer the old tick tock ones with the pendulum going back and forth.  Another thing is if it's a song she knows well that can help or have someone play along with her.

I agree completely. The way I learned beats as a 7 year old was to watch the swingy metronome, and tilt my head back and forth for the longest of times. Then moved on to clapping whenever my head was upright. It helped me multitask, as well as learned me 8ths. Good luck to your daughter!

CGBownut said

I also have a hard time trying to keep the beat. I have tried the metronome, but I focus on it so much, that I then can not play well.

 I found that listening to someone else play the song ( Youtube ) a few times in a row and just either singing along, or if no words just counting the beats in my head, while someone else plays it, then I immediately practice it trying to keep the beats going in my head. I feel like when I do this, that I am able to notice right away when I am off and I go back a replay that measure or the last couple again.

  The big thing for my learning style is that I find I improve faster when I focus on just one issue at a time. So for the last few weeks I worked mostly on intonation and did not worry about anything else for the first portion of my practice time. I feel like my muscle memory is pretty good and can now focus on my bowing to straighten it up more. But I also mix it up and do not spend a whole practice session on one thing. So I like to finish going back to something I feel I play well and that is when I really work on trying to keep the beat.

 I am still off, but feel like it is getting better.

Hi there! Try wagging your body gently back and forth a few seconds before you play, in the beat you are supposed to play in, and continue doing so while you play. I do not guarrantee that it will work. HOWEVER, I was eventually able to keep the beat like that. And the more I played, the more subtle I made the movements, until I barely moved. Then I proceeded to just imagine the swaying in my mind. Though I have a very strange thought pattern, it might not work very well for you. But most musicians in my local area have reported great success using this, or similar methods (Like clacking teeth together) 

Most important of all I think is to make the beat physical. Not theoretical or completely auditive. This is because: Playing an instrument is roughly about 3 things. Remembering in your head what you need to play. Having the knowledge HOW to produce that tone. And muscle memory. There are of course other factors involved. But in my honest opinion which is shared by many. Muscle memory is number 1 on the list. My theory is that if you incorporate say a 60bpm rythm to your muscle memory, you can very easily modify that to your liking. Most tunes I play are at roughly 120bpm, so it would then be like playing 8ths. 

TLDR: Make your muscles remember the rythm. Practice on modern, conventional tunes. You don't start with a song that has a pace-change every third second. And that incorporates all the technique in the world. Constantly challenge yourself. But DO NOT set unrealistic goals. That is the downfall of a musician.