That sounds great, but when they become 8 years old I can virtually guarantee that "things that matter to them" are going to be video games, YouTube personaliti

That sounds great, but when they become 8 years old I can virtually guarantee that "things that matter to them" are going to be video games, YouTube personalities, and whatever version of TikTok/Instagram exists at that time (more for teenagers). The issue isn't "letting them explore", because they will simply go to the easiest dopamine hit available (outside rare exceptions, as most of us "nerds" might've done some programming instead). You can't truly educate children by leaving them to their own devices (though it is still important for them to have significant free time in their lives). That has been true since ancient times. Humans have always known this, which is why we have never done otherwise.