3-yrs-old, genius in training

At the age of four, Toshita Meherotra plays seventeen songs and five melodies on the keyboards.
She idolises teen musician Afroz Phirozabadi and wants to be a renowned music director, a la A R Rahman. Mihir Jaiswal''s parents take pride in saying that their son learnt swimming at the age of two-and-a half. Today, at five, Mihir swims three hours daily and hopes to win an Olympic medal.Rakshanda Gandhi, seven, is already a proficient Bharatnatyam dancer, now hoping to learn ballet. Actress Sridevi, who started with her dance training at three, is the icon Rakshanda worships and she hopes start her acting career at 16, just like Sridevi. Look around and you''ll find many such talents flourishing at a young age, hoping to make their mark as early as possible.
"It''s quite a phenomenon that almost 60 per cent of children today start training in either an art or a sports activity at the age of three," explains psychologist Sheetal Palrecha, "Catch them young and watch them grow was the mantra for winning medals internationally. Today, the time has come to ask the question, how early is too early?" In most cases, parents of young prodigies share this enthusiasm.
"At the age of three, naturally the child doesn''t even have an idea what s/he likes. It''s the parents who decide what their kids do and with what intensity," says Palrecha, "In a frenzy of not wasting any time in moulding the child''s interest, they often start too early, affecting the child''s mental and physical health."
Having another Sant Dnyaneshwar, Mozart, Nadia Comanenci or Sachin Tendulkar at home is a dream for many."We generally start tennis training for children after the age of seven, but as many parents want their children to start earlier, we had to devise ''mini-tennis'', so that kids don''t strain themselves," says tennis coach Nandan Bal, "It''s dangerous to start too early with physical games, as players end up getting injured at a young age."
That''s the reason why, according to Bal, the International Tennis Federation has banned under-12 tennis tournaments. Ballroom dancing expert Ewa Maria Cherukuru is vexed with parents approaching her dancing school for early training for their wards. "Can you imagine a 11-monthold child being brought here as a dance student? I just have to drive these enthusiastic parents away, because when the child doesn''t understand the activity, the very purpose of the activity is ruined," she complains.
"In the last five years, I have taught 100 students in the age group of three to five year-olds computer operations," says computer instructor Umesh Shah, who works with a reputed computer training institute. Child psychologist Sushma Sheth sums it all up: "If you light a candle too early in a day, it will be finished before it''s dark. I suggest that parents do not live their child''s life. Catch them young, but don''t nip them in the bud!"
sharvari.joshi@timesgroup.com