In my opinion, anyone under age 4 is too young to compete. My DS is super competitive and he has entered competitions since he was 5 years old - in sports, chess, math, music. If you live in a cosmopolitan area, take your DD to watch the top profile music competitions there this year - there are "elementary" categories in instrumental music - you will be very surprised at how many little kids compete. The judges really take the time to write thoughtful comments and the ways the little kids can improve their skills and musicality.
We started with competitions that were very low stakes - the kind where every one got a medal and was treated like a winner. We then moved on to the competitive ones and at age 7 now, DS competes at the national level in some things.
In our case, competing has been a great learning experience and also opened DS's eyes to the fact that there are other kids out there whose drive, determination and skill set match his.
PS: I don't have a single competitive bone in my body, so this is all new to me. I think that preparing for competitions takes time away from learning new things. I do not voice my opinion, but let my DS lead the way.
Last edited by ashley; 02/19/15 11:45 PM.
