Even children need to be optimized for maximum success (so profit) now? Must have missed that memo.
There was a discussion here a while back with a college admissions person where they confirmed that volunteer work is a bonus where actual work is not. It's not explicitly stated, but anyone who comes from a family where they _have_ to work is at a disadvantage.
Well ... no they don't and this is the problem. 'Regular' people for some reason feel the need to replicate what 'they' do. Why do you see 'them' do this and then think 'my children need what they are doing with theirs'.
Look.. the data are unequivocal. Most people are unhappy. If you are not unhappy with your life, you are the outlier and the exception. Thus... don't try to do what others are doing, since most likely they're unhappy. Just enjoy yourself.
Those people are dumb; ignore them. They're "fighting the last war", so to say.
Seriously, an orchestra needs 30-40 violins per tuba. There has to be a lot of violin players, or there is no orchestra (the Harvard orchestra is short on violin players right now [1] - they certainly aren't going to be taking many more "unusual" instruments without more violins)
The injury rates for young athletes keeps increasing (as in younger than 25-30). Plenty of research shows that specializing in a single sport at a young age is a strong contributor to this. Of course those "elite" coaches want your kid to give up everything else; when your kid burns out or get injured the coach just moves on to the next kid in line.
Just opt out of this system, your kids will be fine.
[1] https://www.harvardradcliffeorchestra.org/current-roster
But you know, just about every single good university has an orchestra - lots of them have multiple (symphony, philharmonia, etc). There are way more kids playing music for their school than will ever be professional musicians. And there is a need for 2-3 times more violin players than cello players.
If your kid enjoys playing violin and wants to play in college, that will count for a lot more than someone who plays a cello just so they can write it down on their application.
We ramp up the pressure younger than ever, tell people that their entire future hinges on their success and getting ahead of their peers right now, then we're surprised that people crack under the stress?
(FWIW, the sports that seem to come up on top are rich, exclusive sports like fencing and polo, because they serve well as class signifiers in admissions)