Just because a scheme has word like child or retirement it is not necessary that it is best suited for your child or retirement needs. Such funds generally have some lock in period during which you cannot exit the product even if it under performs. If you are new to investing you can start with sensex or nifty based index funds which will help you earn market returns without having to worry about review or rebalancing. Gradually you can start investing in midcap/Small cap funds once you get some hands on experience. One should start investing for his retirement from the first income without waiting any further.