Three year olds are being pushed academically and are kicked out of pre-school for not being able to sit still. Three. Years. Old.
“A preschool teacher demanded that a 3-year-old get tested for ADHD when he couldn’t sit still for the half-hour stretches required by his preschool.” I can barely sit still that long! An article about competitive pre-schools in the Contra Costa Times provides a fair assessment of this trend.

Peter Mangione, the co-director of WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies in San Francisco said, “Knowing some letters is helpful to learn when you’re a 4-year-old. We don’t have to have them reading, but that preliminary exposure can be helpful. But should we spend all that time doing that? No. We have to keep it in balance, and play, we know, is central in children’s lives. We need to look at who young children are, what their learning and developmental needs are and how adults can support that. And if we do that, we will help children be ready for the next stage of life.”