Rain forests, reefs, monuments... Too much for 3-year-olds?

Puja Pednekar
Here’s what is on an average preschool toddler’s plate: Facts about little-known countries, world heritage sites and monuments, the conservation of Australian coral reefs and Amazon rain forests, deforestation and mining, among other things.
Preschools in the city are shoving down the throats of two- to five-year-olds subjects that are supposed to make them smarter, but is that working?
Psychiatrists warn that exposing children to so much information at such a young age might make them bored and turn them off learning. According to psychologist Seema Hingorani, early exposure to intellectually stimulating concepts might stymie the child’s growth. “I’ve seen that when a child is exposed to too much information when she’s too young, it overloads her brains. Some children become bored. And some become so smart that they are unable to accept defeat. This also leads to an obsessive compulsory habit of questioning all the time.”
Rajendra Barve, psychiatrist, says that preschools should not put too much pressure on toddlers to ‘speak in English’. “We see many cases where children have developed low self-confidence because they are not good ‘English speakers’.”
“Under the heading of age-appropriate curriculum, they are teaching topics like conservation and global warming,” Hingorani said.
Billabong High International School, Santa Cruz, recently organised an environmental campaign to teach preschoolers how to take care of the environment, while Kangaroo Kids held a carnival on world festivals. “Our syllabus is age-appropriate. In conservation, we teach nursery and junior-level students just to identify various causes, while senior kg students are taught the details,” said Kusum Kanwar, head of operations, BHIS.
Swati Popat, president of Podar Education Network said, “We try to create an interest in the topic through exercises such as ‘10 things I can to do conserve water’ and carnivals.”
However, parents complain that preschools hold too many activities and projects. “My daughter’s preschool holds a festival or a carnival almost every week. She constantly makes charts, posters or different objects. I was surprised to see her using scissors,” said Ashish Mehta, a parent.