Ditto that, Mia.

I think we're getting hothousing--which is pushy parenting, not child-led--confused with child-led learning and enrichment, which is mostly what these kids want >and< need.

Hothousing is what gives us a bad name. People assume it's what we're doing with our kids because it's what they'd *have* to do with their kids to get them to where our kids choose to be/can't help but be.

Following the lead of your children is, by definition, NEVER hothousing, in my book. Museum trips to broaden horizons--especially if you enjoy museums yourself--isn't hothousing, unless you force the kids to memorize the names of the artists while you're there or something nutty like that.

Personally, I'd prefer to keep hothousing as a term separate and distinct from other forms of teaching and enrichment because I think we need that specificity sometimes. Case in point: DS6 is having trouble with his times tables. I wondered if I should hothouse him to get them down, even if it's not child-led and he doesn't enjoy it? We could even use flash cards to drill him! It would help him in the long run, but it would not be something he'd choose and it might be something he's not developmentally ready for that I'd be pushing him to do.

Casting it in that light made me realize that I really had to take another approach, so it helped me. If I thought ALL teaching was hothousing, that wouldn't have helped me to decide .

This is a long-winded plea for specificity of language, I guess! smile

Kriston