> but actually detrimental as it sours them to the idea of anything labeled "mathematics".

Except it does not. Or, maybe some kids do build up lifetime hatred of math due to arithmetic. But it is not what happened with my kids, their friends, me myself back then or my friends.

The thing that pushes people to dislike math is when abstract concepts are taught too soon, before the brain develops the abstract thinking. Or too fast, or in a bad way.

But where I have seen dislike of math. it was not arithmetic part of it. It was seemingly magic incomprehensible concepts later on.