Dd, aged 7, does piano lessons once a week and has done for about a year. She really enjoys her lessons and does a fair bit of practice in between which she genuinely seems to enjoy. Her teacher wants her to start working towards Grade 1 - as she says that without doing grades you have 'nothing to show for it'.
I'm wondering though whether it would be better for dd not to do grades, or at least not yet. I played the piano throughout my childhood, and eventually got my grade 8 - but after taking that exam I realised that I'd spent 18 months perfecting 3 pieces, but had no ability to play anything else. It also got so repetitive, working on the same pieces for over a year before each exam. I've barely touched a piano since I left home for university.
It's making me wonder whether dd would get more enjoyment out of the piano without taking ABRSM exams - she can work on a far greater variety of pieces, without feeling she needs to perfect any of them and play them over and over again for months.
If dd reaches a higher level at some point - maybe equivalent to grade 5/6 - and wants to start doing grades, then I would of course support her, but AIBU to not let her teacher start her on grades yet?