Music Scholarships for Independent Schools, Do they encourage child abuse? Options

[Alicia Ocean]

We have a few local independent schools - not specialist music schools, that's rather different - that offer a discount on fees by way of a scholarship in various fields. There's generally a maths scholarship, an academic scholarship, a sports scholarship and a music scholarship.

I know an eight year old entering for grade 5 piano this term. It's essential to the parents that this child continues to show outstanding achievement to maintain their music scholarship and hefty discount at their school. The child gets back from school at 7pm (no homework as it's done at school) and then has time for tea and practice before bed and then doing it all again the next day. I can't say whether the child is enjoying this routine but I know the mother is very, very strict about practice. Isn't this sort of pressure on a child a form of abuse? Are the music scholarships perpetuating this? Any thoughts?

[Listener]

Who'd be a Chinese mother? I am pleased that I have noticed only great talent and enjoyment in my child's "Chinese" friends' playing. I daresay they work hard to make it seem that effortless and I admire them for that. I put Chinese in inverted commas because mostly they were born here and are British - and what the heck if they weren't and aren't - they're here now. Probably some of them don't originate from China anyway (East Asia is a big place). I've seen pushy parenting, but it's just as likely to be among people of Anglo-Saxon heritage. And maybe Viking too. With the odd Celt thrown in.