"Kindercramming" by anxious parents

Time magazine ("Tutors for Toddlers", 3 Dec 07 issue) calls it "kindercramming" --- an obsession by anxious parents who are convicted to provide their toddlers with after-school tutoring beyond the traditional nursery education. Time attributed this toddler-tutoring frenzy to research reports advocating the essence of children entering preschools with elementary reading and math skills, which is essential for the strong foundation of success in later school years.

The article goes on to quote experts in the assessment of various pre-school teaching methods and emphasized the need for children not to have a hurried learning path but build up their skills through traditional learning-through-play programs.

For example, it says that reading specialists commented that although flash cards are used to teach letter and word recognition, young children are merely memorizing how to respond to each card --- drawing an analogy to the "paired-associate learning" syndrome which even "a pigeon can do it"! On work sheets, experts prefer the use of objects such as building blocks to "paper-and-pencil" drills in the understanding of early math concepts. Literacy skills are also opined to be more easily acquired through storytelling and exposure to a wide vocabulary, rather than through software-based learning programs.

Back at home, I use picture and word flash cards to conduct literacy lessons to my children occasionally. A few years ago, I had even bought the whole series of Glen Doman English and Chinese flash card programs but just didn't have the discipline and time to work on it on a regular basis after the initial enthusiasm.

While not doubting the need for early pre-school literacy and math skills, I somewhat agree that parents should refrain from putting too much pressure on themselves and even their children in chasing after pre-school educational fads and not understanding the unique characteristics of each child's learning preference.

Underscoring the importance of literacy and thinking skills, I believe it is one of the fundamental building blocks in the child's learning success, which will prepare him or her for other skills such as math and sciences.