[froh]

I think we agree to disagree.

how is allowing a kid to do what they have fun with (maths in this case) "robbing them of their childhood??

If it involved tears and pressure for performance and obligation, yes, that's questionable. but a brain that wants to brain around for fun and giggles with other brains? greatest childhood ever.

[CarpaDorada]

Kids don't brain around for fun, if you put them in that extremely competitive environment they will compete. Kids have fun playing with their friends. Take it from Terry Tao, who has been through all of this and also has a fields medal: <https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/advice-on-gifte...>.

>[..] any short-term advantage one might gain in working excessively towards such benchmarks may be outweighed by the time and energy that such a goal takes away from other aspects of a child’s social, emotional, academic, physical, or intellectual development.

I'm more radical than him in my viewpoint. Academia and industry is infested with broken people with robbed childhoods. Heed my warning and don't let it happen to your children.

[camdenreslink]

A couple points from my experience:

- Kids absolutely do brain around for fun. It’s one of the main things they do.

- Terence Tao is by far the most extreme example of studying advanced math as a child. A kid can work through higher concepts without being Tao.

Obviously if a parent is pressuring a child, or seeking specific outcomes like grades or graduating early that is a different story.

[nicoburns]

Eh. Kids definitely do brain around for fun. More so if they have other kids (or parentd for that matter) who also like to "brain around".

I do agree that we need to be careful not to focus on things a kid is good at so much that we neglect other areas that they may not so naturally excel in.

[CarpaDorada]

It's not excellence, it's the plurality of experiences.

[nicoburns]

I agree with that. Kids being pushed to do things they are not good at too much would be just as bad. And I guess that happens too.