A little girl playing the violin has become a hot topic online after her father posted pictures on the Internet, Yangtze Evening News reported Monday.

The three-year-old girl, nicknamed Xiao Mi, from Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, started to learn to play the violin when she was two years old, according to Xiao Mi's dad.

While some people supported her father for cultivating her interest in music, others have criticized for depriving Xiao Mi of the childhood.

Xiao Mi is playing the violin. Photo by Xiao Mi’s father

The girl’s father, surnamed Shi, said Xiao Mi took violin lessons on Saturdays.

"I recorded violin lessons of Xiao Mi by my mobile phone, and she asks to watch ten minutes of video lessons before going to bed obediently," he said.

"Playing the violin helps to give Xiao Mi a kind of artistic influence," he added, "I hope she is happy when playing the violin."

"The best age for children to learn to play the violin is four years old, when behaviors and understanding abilities are stable," said Huang Jiayin, a principal of one violin school for children in Nanjing.