As a society we are expecting more from our children at younger ages than what was expected of us a generation ago. I have to ponder on this rush to achieve and wonder are we expecting to produce brighter more accomplished children with all of this effort? I mean really--it may be impressive if your 4 year old can read but what is the ultimate profit in learning this at 4 when they could easily have learned it at 5? What skill, talent, or interest got shortshirted by the effort that went into developing this skill at 4 years of age? Was that which was displaced of cruicial value? Such as a social skill or a skill that would lead to an industrious or independent nature.
Psychologists have long studied the developmental order in which learning and growth progresses from infancy through adulthood. There is a classic "window of opportunity" for learning to occur at a developmental stage---this window represents the optimal period for acquiring a paticular skill. Developmental stages have age ranges but are not age specific. It is important as a parent to recognize which developmental stage that their child is in, and to know that transitions between stages are gradual with some back and forth, not absolute. This is especially important when determining if your child is ready for Kindergarten---just because he/she has turned five does not mean that they should start K. that year. Sometimes, the gift of time is the most valuable gift we can give a child. I firmly believe that we are not creating smarter children by requiring them to master skills at younger and younger ages. Some who are developmentaly ahead of the curve will rise to the task but even then I have to wonder what did they miss in their push to beat the clock?
Donna