Some educators say children are like sponges -- eager to soak up all activities provided to them VIDEO CNN's Greg Lefevre talks with kids, parents, and experts. Windows Media 28K 80K

September 3, 1999
Web posted at: 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT)

In this story: 'We can't not do this for our children' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Greg Lefevre

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- Look at the classes available -- French, music, art and computers -- and guess the grade level.

Junior high, high school or college?

No, these are classes for preschoolers.

"I do reading and math," volunteered a girl too young for kindergarten.

The Creme de la Creme chain of pre-schools has toddlers in front of computers, speaking languages and aiming high.

Educators say more and more parents are trying to start their kids ahead of the pack -- early.

'We can't not do this for our children'

"Academically, we walked out of here, and my husband said, 'We can't not do this for our children,'" Barbara Candeub said.

"I think there's a lot of pressure here," said another parent, Susan Perlstein. "You feel like -- oh gosh -- will my child not have the same advantage as other kids if we don't have them in the same number of programs?"

"We feel that children are really sponges eager to soak up all of the activities that are there, but we also encourage and foster the love of learning," said Debbie Dermer of Creme de la Creme.

The preschools also offer supplemental education -- after pre-school and on weekends -- to give kids a boost over their future schoolmates.

"I honestly don't remember too much about my kindergarten, but I don't remember having to write my name -- it was more an extension of preschool," mused parent Terri Baum. "But now it's not. They are expected to write, and they're learning how to read before the school year ends."

Can all this competitive learning start too early?

Experts recommend:

• Fun, loosely organized activities at age 3.
• Holding off on class work until age 4.

"I think that children need a lot of chances to be children, and so there needs to be kind of a place for them to not necessarily have a formal instruction -- but informal ways to learn and interact with their environment," said education expert Marti Garlett.

Parents do worry about pushing too hard.

"I do make sure that he has some down time, but it is competitive, and I think it's a matter of making choices," Perlstein said about her son.

"I think they also need to be outside doing what kids do," Baum said.

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