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The column indicates that the study cited was done "years ago" which makes me wonder how pre-K and early elementary school may have changed since then.
He also makes a claim about medication and placebos, but cites no source. As a parent of a child with ADHD, I'm offended when people claim it doesn't exist, and that's what he seems to be saying.
He makes to claim that pre-K is harmful, so if parents are willing to pay for it, I see no reason not to.
I have to wonder what he and you have to gain by encouraging people to skip pre-K. He sounds like a quack to me.
On one hand, my oldest child taught me that children will learn at their own pace and most of them will get there when they get there. My daughter had 3 years at an excellent preschool. It wasn't focused on specifically teaching them to read, etc. but readying them to do so. We always read to her...heck, she memorized short books at age 2 and fooled people into thinking she could read. She did well in kindergarten, but about midway through first grade I was becoming a bit worried that her reading ability wasn't where "I" thought it should be. I spoke with her teacher about it before winter break. A few months later she just took off and was one of the top readers in her class. She did things on her own schedule. She continued to be a top student through college. She graduated from college with a 3.9 GPA in a computer science related major and a minor in a language (she was/is versatile in her intelligence). So in some ways I agree--kids do things at their own pace--preschool won't matter.
On the other hand John Rosemond is a recognized hack and dozens of studies have shown the benefits of early childhood education. He's not a specialist in childhood education. He's a family psychologist. He's looking to make some money by saying something controversial. Just google his name and "criticism" to see what I mean.
I also have a close cousin that is in his mid-50's like me. He was raised with the style of parenting Rosemond applauds, but he does have what would now be diagnosed as ADHD. It wasn't well understood when we were kids, and I still recall some of the horrible things his mother and our grandmother did because he was "hyperactive" (things prescribed by his doctors). He eventually turned to drugs and alcohol. He is sober now and in a good place, but I don't think he would have gone down the road of addictions if he had received real help when we were kids.
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