There is no specific time to start having preferences. The children that demonstrate at a young age what they like and what they do not like are more inclined to remain independent thinkers. When you teach a child to conform, because that is easier to handle than a free-spirited child, you are working against Nature. It is not natural to sit still for hours on end being force-fed information that is quite possibly of no consequence in the bigger picture.
If there was a choice between references and preferences, I would choose preferences because they are honest. What do references mean to anyone when they are written with an ulterior motive? Motives are good to work with unless they are ulterior. Then it is better to work with intentions. Intentions are questionable at the best of times, but they are never ulterior.
How does a person learn what they prefer? They try different things. They cultivate an opinion and they discern for themselves what is best for their learning, their journey. You can only have a preference when you have had something better than what you knew before. A preference does not refer to a negative. It indicates a positive. It means you choose one thing, above another, if given a choice between the two.
C.J. Birch
Amen 🙂 I enjoyed reading it!