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Let Children Be Children for a While

Will a tiny tot of 3 be a burnt-out prepubescent at 10? Are pre-kindergarten classes the emotional equivalent of boot camp for babies? Are children forced onto the fast track before they've had time to stop and blow away the fuzz on a dandelion?

For many children, the answers are yes, yes, and yes.

As increasing numbers of parents consider pre-preschool for their children, as kindergarten training camps and prep classes become big business, with at least 28 states funding pre-kindergarten classes, this is as good a time as any to separate the chaff of optimism for these programs from the wheat of reality.

We've moved from a child-centered society to a work-centered one, and the children are paying for it. Pushing children too fast too soon may slow them down later on.

Young children exposed to structured learning have been found to suffer more anxiety over tests, to be less creative later, and quickly lose the academic edge in elementary school. A study of 120 preschoolers by the Spencer Foundation observed the effects of parental stress on the children's later achievement, and reached glum conclusions.

"We forget that play is the work of childhood," Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, professor of psychology and one of the authors of the study, told the Chronicle of Higher Education. "We need to have respect for children and to let them explore and learn on their own."

These sentiments are echoed by many early-childhood experts, where the issue is less that all preschool is bad than that certain kinds of preschools damage children.

"When we instruct children in academic subjects, or in swimming, gymnastics, or ballet, at too early an age, we miseducate," says David Elkind, a professor of child's study at Tufts University. "We put them at risk for short-term stress and long-term personality damage for no useful purpose. There is no evidence that such early instruction has lasting benefits, and considerable evidence that it can do lasting harm."

Then why do many preschools and kindergartens push academic achievement? The answers are both cultural and personal.

We've lost our competitive edge and in a fit of pique approaching panic we're looking for quick fixes and magic bullets, starting with youngsters. High tech further confounds us, suggesting short cuts to learning via computers, even though most tots aren't ready to learn much from microchips.

A misreading of psychological theorists suggests to many parents that kids can learn almost anything as long as someone takes the time, and "the earlier, the better." Such attitudes may have more to do with a parent's needs and vanities than a child's abilities.

The pressure of structured preschool is also felt in kindergarten and first grades of public schools, where tests and homework push children faster and farther than they're prepared to go. Bringing play back to preschool, kindergarten, and the home would be a start on making things better. It's not coincidental that the older a child starts kindergarten, the better he'll do in school.

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