European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 02, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Robbing children of their childhood by Rosemary Sawyer staff writer hey just want to give their kids a break a head Star on adulthood yet experts say children of such Well meaning parents pay a High psychological and physical Price Lor a jump on the future child development experts have even coined a term for this unhealthy tendency to fast Forward children into the future they Call it the hurried child syndrome " the hurried child syndrome basically robs the child of the right to be a  said Penny Schneider director of family child care Lor the us army in Europe we have an Overall attitude of getting on with Lite and not wasting time on the frivolities of youth learning to Cope with the adult world Belore children Are really ready to do  to put it simply the hurried child syndrome is making miniature adults of children. The experts blame America s goal oriented society Tor the hurried child syndrome. We americans look at things in terms of a linear scale said maj. Robert Anderson chief of the Rhein Mam a mental health clinic. Linear thinkers View Lite As a ladder that we climb rather than a mosaic where we All play a role. They think if i can give my kid a couple boasts up the ladder faster then things Are going to be belts for me and i will be a Good Parent " Anderson said. Someone with a linear View of the world thinks Iii can gel my kids started taster i can get my kid to basketball Camp when he s 2vz years old and by god hell be playing in the Aba " such linear or goal oriented thinking however does t lend itself to the Way kids operate. Most children Are ill prepared Phy Cally and emotionally to handle a premature thrust into adulthood. Pushing children into experiences they re not ready for can create All kinds of stresses in the children Schneider said. We see children now with adult stress disorders migraine headaches ulcers insomnia inability to relate socially with  hurried children Are forced to Lake on the physiological and social trappings of adulthood before they Are prepared to Deal with them David Elkind writes in the hurried child growing up too fast too  dress our children in miniature adult costumes often with designer labels to expose them to gratuitous sex and violence and we expect them to Cope with an increasingly bewildering social environment divorce single parenthood  today s fourth fifth and sixth graders Are now involved in things that their parents would t have thought about urn after High school Schneider said. Anderson agreed saying if Booth Tarkington wrote his Book seventeen in 1988 he would have to Call it twelve. Coaching a Little league to Ball team at Travis fab. Calif., first sparked Anderson s interest in hurried children. There he saw 6 to 8-year-old children who would have been More comfortable at Home with their is no tour Steve Morks Onman. Robert Andeson. Chef of the mental Hearth clinic at Rhein Maln a West Germany. Cuddly bears than poised with a baseball Bat in Iron of Lens of screaming parents and coaches. Such experiences can prove traumatic and destroy a child s self Confidence. We All at some Point in time had Confidence oftentimes it begins to slip when we go to school because for the first time we become rank ordered vis a vis other people Anderson said. I knew when i was in first Grade for example who was in the Blue Bird Reading group who was in Tho red Bird Reading group and i was in the dead Parrot Reading group and probably would t amount to  the earlier children become accustomed to rank ordering themselves the More problems Thoy have. By York Tutts Pool David Elkind Calls rigidly formalized Early childhood programs the Lunatic fringe facade la. Teaching tots How much is too much by John m. Leighty United press intention Ali n a phenomenon termed Hothouse my american children arc being enrolled nationwide in preschool programs thai educational psychologists say can cause stress and Burn out in the primary grades because of the emphasis on teaching tots the 3 r s too soon. Parents eager to give their kids a jump on the Page 14 the stars and stripes Competition Lor acceptance in the Best schools and colleges Are forming lines to enrol their 3-to 5-year-Olds in academic programs that Ollen Cost upwards of $5.000 a year. Other parents select less expensive Community programs to give their kids a place to play and learn during the workday sometimes As an alternative to paying for Quality Day care services. Some 6 million american children Are now enrolled in preschool programs More than Ever before and the choices Range from those thai emphasize simple Sandbox play to those that use hash cards and blackboards to Leach Early academic skills Many parents and teachers tout Early Normal childhood education As a Way to prepare Young slurs Lor the complexities and Competition of a modern High tech world a View being challenged a a growing number of educational psychologists Avld Elkind professor of child study at Tufts University and author of 12 books on the subject Calls rigidly formalized Early childhood programs the Lunatic fringe of Academia. He says such programs Are unscientific and exert excessive pressure on children that can result in Short term stress and Long term personality problems. Elkind dubs the 1980s an age of mis education the title of his latest Book and contends that Many Well meaning but confused parents Are putting their Young children in Early educational programs designed for older Grade schooners. While mis education has  been with us we have always had Pushy parents today it has become a societal Norm says Elkind. It we do not Wake up to the potential danger of these harmful practices we May do serious damage to a Large segment of the next  much of the criticism of educational experts is aimed at the Middle class a segment of the population where both parents must often work. Many baby Boom parents in this category Are also having children in their mid-30s, Are usually established in their careers and want their offspring to have As Many advantages As possible. Yale psychologist Edward Zigler in an article in american psychologist said he agrees with Elkind that children should t be pushed into forma learning Loo soon Loo fast because it deprives them of a precious commodity their childhood. The image of the 4-year-old in designer jeans new Volt Tom photo some s million american children an enrolled in preschool program More than Ever before. Miniature executive briefcase in hand May seem cute but Rushing children from Cradle to school denies them the Freedom to develop at their own Pace says Zigler who once served As director of child development Lor the department of health education and welfare. Children from Middle class families the psychologists note usually have sufficient nurturing social interaction and Home Learned cognitive skills to prepare them Lor the Public school system. There is no evidence they say. That a child who learns to read at age 3 will to any smarter by second Grade than a youngster who learns at age 6. Studies however have shown that such programs As the federally funded head Start Are sum Essul in helping children irom disadvantaged families gain the cognitive and social skills they might otherwise Lack when entering the school system. We re fostering their ability to make choices and solve  said Patty Green educational coordinator of the head Start program Lor 155 children in Northern California s Marin county. I think All children can Benefit irom positive Early education " in a positive environment she said the children teach each other. At the private Laurel school in san Francisco parents pay $5.000 a year to place their 3 to 5-year-Olds in an academic setting. The youngsters can go on through 12th monday i