<p>[Nursery</a> University](<a href=“http://www.nurseryuniversitythemovie.com/]Nursery”>http://www.nurseryuniversitythemovie.com/)</p>
<p>the push starts at 2 year old now.</p>
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<p>And we wonder why so many kids are on antidepressant/antianxiety meds???</p>
<p>I’m in my 40s, and I think our parents generation had it right: They were supportive, but not over-involved. They had their own lives. They wanted us active, but didn’t plan out every spare minute of our summer. We played outside, and walked to where we wanted to go. They cared more about our character than our self-esteem, knowing that a person who has good character has a solid basis for good self-esteem. They didn’t obsess about our ECs, our ACTs or our APs. Those were ours to deal with. They drove us to take the ACT test…once (or maybe we got a ride with a friend), but they had no idea what our score meant. We applied to a couple of colleges, and got in, and nobody obsessed about the prestige factor. </p>
<p>I think that there is a sub-set of today’s parents who drive the uber-competitive, insane process that college admissions has become. You know who you are.</p>
<p>this is completely crazy. Let’s not propagate this societal panic that fans the paranoia of gullible parents. I hear stories like this about some really crazy parents in upper echelon in Manhattan etc. My S1 is a very gifted child who went to a public magnet high school rated within top 5 among all public schools in USA. 30-40% of student body got admitted to top 10-15 colleges/universities. None of my kid’s friends, who are top students even in that school, came out of this kind of pedigreed background: their parents are normal, middle class people and the kids were raised more or less normal route until they went to that high school, which does provide very enriching and advanced academic curriculum.</p>
<p>My S2 goes to a regular suburban high school. A good district, but nevertheless a regular school. He is a good student, but not a super star. However, knowing the personality and character of this one, I won’t bet an less money on his eventual success in his chosen field as I do on his older brother’s. </p>
<p>Perhaps, a kid who would have gone to a public flagship state U could go to a private school a notch higher ranked with this kind of “herding”, but this kind of incremental difference is really NOT that important for long life success. I highly doubt somebody who would have gone to third tier state school would be trained well enough to go to HYP by this kind of intervention. As for networking, well, important networking really takes place at college and beyond, NOT at kindergarten and preschool.</p>
<p>Every time I read a story like this, I really wonder: are parents that insecure to buy into this? Do they really believe any extra mileage their child gets by this kind of crazed “herding” is worth the stress and anxiety both for the kids and parents.</p>
<p>Parents should live their own life, and let the children live their own too. I believe most parents who are crazy enough to buy into this kind of paranoia and delusion are those who are overly invested into the children’s success as an indication of their self worth. Honestly, we need to wonder: do I want this for my child for HIS/HER SAKE, or is it deep down for MY SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHIMENT and validation as a parent.</p>
<p>Please folks, the link is to a MOVIE blurb. This is not an article. Of course it’s going to be blown out of proportion!</p>
<p>Nobody is blowing anything out of proportion. Of course this is a link to a movie promo. However, if this weren’t really happening, the movie makers would not be satirizing it. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There really are parents like this (and most of them post on CC, LOL!). </p>
<p>I feel like I am on a one-woman mission to STOP THE MADNESS!</p>
<p>I wish this was being blown out of proportion. I live in New York and,sadly, it’s the truth. It’s been going on for a LONG time - I have friends with kids who are now in their early 20s who went through the same garbage just to get enrolled in a preschool that is a “feeder” to one of the better schools. We thought that moving to a northern NYC suburb would help us to escape the madness, but it wasn’t that much better here.</p>
<p>Dad II, you’re hardly one to criticize! You’ve wanted your daughter to go to Harvard ever since she was a little girl, and when she got rejected (even though she got into universities equally as good) you said it took a few weeks of drinking to get over the pain! What’s the difference, really? You have the same goals as the stereotypical over-the-top NYC parents who are pushing to get their kids into the right preschools!</p>
<p>I think it is great that children are not considered as blobs anymore " who should be seen but not heard", and I think you can start educating your child naturally as soon as they are born.
I even know babies who learn sign language before they can speak, and they seem to be much less frustrated and upset than children who have difficulty communicating.
But it should be fun- not with a focus on a " goal".</p>
<p>My kids attended the best schools we could find with the info we had at the time.
If that doesn’t make for a perfect life- there is always the therapy fund.</p>
<p>I grew up in the Suburban 70s and the parents I knew were so self involved, they didn’t have time to notice what their kids were doing.
I prefer now.</p>
<p>And people claim NYers are not screwed up.</p>
<p>I saw the film today. It’s crazy! 20K for a 2 year old! </p>
<p>There was, however, a good moment, where one woman started to cry when asked how different would her life be now if her parents would do more than just sending her to the closest public school.</p>
<p>This is nothing new. It has been going on for a long time. Mos people I know in the city have worried about which school their kids would go to when they were no more than 6 months old.</p>
<p>Both of our girls were born in NYC. We had to get our 1.5 yr old D1 into this pre-school, which was the feeding school for an elementary school we wanted her to attend(it was the school where most of UN diplomats’ kids went). Even 20 years ago it was $7000 for 2/hr per day for 3 days a week. Kindergarten was 15,000 a year at her elementary school. I was very naive to ask about the pre-school’s hours, I just thought what was the point of having 2 hours a day because I would still need a full time babysitter. With a straight face, the admission person told me that their school provided an environment for learning, not a babysitting service.</p>