Too young

Whatever happened to the idea that small children should be at home with their mother? Has it gone the way of the cassette tape? Is it just hopelessly outmoded? I read this morning that more states are increasing the amount of money spent on preschool and head start education and lowering the age at which public education begins to 3. Do three year olds really need to be a part of the public school system? Wouldn't they be better off at home with good old mom baking cookies, playing dress up and running free in the back yard?

Why is it that so many parents seem to be so very eager to get rid of their children by sending them off to be educated by someone else? Many people we know whose children are educated outside of the home speak longingly of the time when their little darlings are off at school and the house is quiet and mom can do what she wants. It may be great for mom, but is it the best thing for her children?

I don't mean to say that there are no benefits to young children getting to play and run and shout and be very loud, there certainly are. But I think we would do well to heed the old saying which goes 'There is no one who loves us like mom loves us.' We have simply lost sight of the fact that the government's intervention into anything, even education, has never yielded a better result than would be provided by personally interested individuals. That means, simply put, no one can teach them the same way mom and dad can, because no one else loves them like mom and dad do.

Is there a place for school? Certainly. Should in be compulsory? No. Should it begin at the tender age of 3? Absolutely not.