Pushing Preschoolers Can Cause Problems

All work and no play won't necessarily make children dull, but it could increase their mental distress without helping their grades, say three child development specialists who recently completed a study of the effects of pushing children to succeed academically at an early age.

The scholars found that children whose parents pushed them to attain academic success in preschool were less creative, had more anxiety about tests, and by the end of kindergarten, had failed to maintain their initial academic advantage over their less pressured peers.

"We forget that play is the work of childhood," says Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University and one of the studies directors. The other two investigators were Marion C. Hyson, associate professor of individual and family studies at University of Delaware and Leslie A. Rescoria, assistant professor of human development at Bryn Mawr College.

--by Chris Raymond, taken from The Chronicles of Higher Education