Thank you, Chris. That's actually very helpful.
A lot of posters here sound quite negative about providing children with interesting educational opportunities that happen to cost money. That shocks me. I'm hearing a lot of "If he really likes it so much, he should be happy just to think about it until he grows up and pays for it himself" type stuff. Really? And these are the people raising the "gifted" kids who are supposed to be our future? My goal is to bend over backwards to provide my son with a great education. My goal is not to bend over backwards to buy him toys (he has almost none) and take him on ski trips. My goal is to feed his highly gifted mind. If this means I have to find ways to raise money for this experience or that, I don't mind. I do what I can. Maybe this means my child is spoiled. So be it. I'm spoiling him with education. To the gallows with me!
If you lived in Florida and Bill Gates offered to personally give your child a tour at Microsoft, would you try to find a way to get your child to Seattle? Or would you tell your child to hold a lemonade stand and hope he raised enough to make the trip when he's 20? Make him "build character" and "earn" the trip, despite the fact that the offer from Gates probably would not stand for thirteen years.
I would never have posted this question if I'd known people were going to be such scolds. If I could delete this thread, I would. Is there a way to do that?
