Balance of free-play or guided-play?

Dad is truly perplexed.

Recently, dad and mum had seriously considered sending me to Uncle Eric's music school as they noticed that I love to sing and am pretty musically inclined. Mum also considered stretching me further by sending me to "Growing Up Gifted" based on Auntie Carol's recommendation that they have a strong child-centred curriculum. Moreover, Joshua also attended GUG when he was younger, and turned out... pretty well.  However, dad just found an old newspaper cutting from the Sunday Times.  The headlines shout out - LET INFANTS BE INFANTS (Sun Times, 6/7/2008, p30)

The editorial noted that the “rat race” for children which seemed to begin earlier these days, when babies were barely out of their mothers’ wombs.  Wow.... in fact, it was funny to know that an American infant-care specialist advocated that parents read to their toddlers when they were two or three months old- and with such a claim his workshop drew sell-out crowd last month. Here in Singapore, two centres which offered the Shichida method, devised by Makoto Shichida in Japan, claimed that all babies were born geniuses, had long waiting lists. Toddlers who attended Shichida classes were said to develop memory, creativity, and the ability to perform quick calculations.

So whats the verdict? Well the editorial opined that sending infants to “genius” classes could prove harmful, as children at that age could be taught to read and perform simple tasks, but not in a structured environment. They should be encouraged to explore and discover things around them freely to stimulate their curiosity and not be pushed to follow a tight schedule in a confined space. They explained that instead of sticking one’s child in a class, parents should instead take him for a walk in a park and watch his senses come alive in a free, natural learning environment.

Daddy daddy.... what will you do with me now???? :)