Many parents work hard to foster a culture of learning early in their children's development. The desire for children to learn as early as possible is common among Hong Kong-Australian families. These children continue to perform well academically. Little is known about the pedagogy that underpins such development in the family or on the appropriateness of this for children's development. Through an intensive case study of three Hong Kong-Australian families investigating their family practices, it was found that learning as a leading activity can be established at an early age. Such findings problematise the expected norms and milestones for traditional maturational theories of child development, as well as raising questions about the specific aspects of leading activity and periodisation promoted by cultural-historical theorists. The findings also reveal the importance of cultural and temporal factors in the development of pedagogical approaches in families.