[quote]Feist wrote:
When people rail against kids pushed at an early age – like those who start karate or violin at 3 years old and practice 3 hours a day – I always think, “But, for that kid, you don’t know.” A lot depends on how it is approached – it can be done wickedly or lovingly. Some kids are happy – for them it’s play, and as natural as breathing.
This kid was unreal – UNREAL – physically, but something about the combo of the dad’s (I presume) voice in the background, the music, the constant taping and, yes, the mugging and screaming he did after everything just turned my stomach. Literally blunted my appetite. Granted I’m seeing this vid w/o much context, and don’t see the kid in his daily life, but what I saw didn’t give me a good vibe. I’m all for not bringing your kids up on Cheetos and Barney – pop has a point when he says, “It’s not wrong what we do, because I did the same things [when] I was a little boy and I am healthy and strong” – but I wonder if the kids ever just gets to play, to be around other kids normally or to be around adults w/o being on display.
That’s my take, anyway, after just seeing the vid and reading the brief article. [/quote]
I seriously think we in the western world have a slightly distorted view point of these things. Being pushed to achieve things is not abuse. A lot of kids hate going to school, hate doing math, hate playing the piano hate doing a lot of things that we force them to do. It just so happens we don’t care about that because it fits into a picture perfect idea of normalcy. The kid on the other hand seems to be enjoying what he’s doing – the assumptions that he’s locked in the house and doesn’t get to play is just an assumption. If it is true that his parents are taking it too far, then it is obviously wrong, but I don’t think the training alone is a cause for concern.