<p>@SoCaldad2 </p>
<p>Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be flip. To answer your question, it is a matter of exposure. The younger you are the better it is to be exposed to different things. If Tiger Woods wasn’t handed a golf club at 3 1/2 and then never touched a club, Mozart a violin, or Bobby Fischer a chessboard, we likely would have never heard of these people. Again, the earlier the exposure the better. I’ve heard it said that mathematicians tend to peak at age thirty though I have no idea if this is true.</p>
<p>The point is, developing the skills necessary to conduct proper research together with the maturity, persistence, imagination and dealing with adversity and challenges (like my son is now) to do so are all important academic and life skills. Learning them sooner rather than later is an advantage. Kids who do research are in no way obligated to pursue the same field in college or grad school. However, if they happen to find their passion early (like Tiger, Mozart, or Fischer) then all the better because they can complete their 10,000 hours sooner.</p>