Exactly-- it's as though in the effort to pursue a growth mindset for our children, we've neglected the fact that while attainment is a destination, the means-- and PACE-- of getting there is probably not terribly mutable for an individual when you get right down to it.
I can't will my child onto a different developmental trajectory by feeding her more or promoting special exercises or anything. It is what it is. That's not to say that I think that her current physical development is static, or that it isn't important to provide her with good nutrition and physical activity that promotes good health.
It's just that no amount of wishing and cajoling/preparation will actually MAKE her develop faster if that isn't her genetic destiny.
I don't know why we persist in believing that all children are cognitively lumps of clay in this fashion. They simply are NOT.
Steven Pinker calls this tendency the denial of human nature (genes really) in the
Blank Slate. It's hard to convince people of how much our nature shapes our destiny when they want so desperately to believe that through nurture they can shape their children's destinies, including their intelligence and personalities.
