We have more preschool programs all the time. In fact, a recent article in The New York Times indicates that there are more preschool openings than can be filled by children, noting that “early childhood advocates say more families would likely sign up if they knew about the benefits of preschool.”
But these so-called benefits often fail to materialize. As various academic studies indicate, children who attend preschool can have difficulties later in life, falling behind their non-preschool peers in both behavior and academics, and having an increased likelihood of being held back a grade later in their school career.
Raymond Moore, an American educational expert and father of the modern homeschool movement, foresaw these problems nearly 50 years ago, noting them in his book “Better Late Than Early.” Because it makes people nervous to voluntarily keep a child out of school for a while, which allegedly allows the child’s peers to “get ahead,” Moore set out to put parents at ease by answering their concerns about keeping children out of preschool and showing some of the unforeseen difficulties presented by starting children in school so early….