<p>It’s a lot like learning to tie your shoes. There’s an average age … Between 4 and 6 … When most kids are developmentally ready to learn to tie their shoes. You can’t rush brain development, hand eye coordination or fine motor skill development. Some kids are developmentally ready to learn to tie their shoes at age 3, some not until age 7. </p>
<p>If you teach a kid to tie his shoes when he’s developmentally ready and eager to learn, he’ll learn it in a day or two, and never forget it.</p>
<p>If you push a kid to learn it earlier than that, he may learn, but it’ll take much longer, there will be frustration and tears, it’ll require much more practice, and the kid is quite likely to forget the process after a family beach vacation where he only wears flip flops for a week or two.</p>
<p>If your child is in the “right” level of math instruction, he’ll learn the concepts quickly, with an average amount of practice, and with a minimum of frustration and drama. </p>
<p>If you insist on teaching higher level math to a kid who isn’t developmentally ready, he may learn it, but there will be frustration, it’ll take much more practice to reinforce the concepts, and concepts will be forgotten more easily. </p>
<p>To me, teaching high level math to a kid who isn’t ready yet is like teaching an average two year old to tie his shoes. You may succeed, but why would you want to do it?</p>