To pre-K or not pre-K?

With the Lester B. Pearson School Board's pre-kindergarten pilot project – currently running at Thorndale elementary school in Pierrefonds, Mount Pleasant elementary school in Hudson and Orchard elementary school in LaSalle and plans for two more at Greendale elementary (Pierrefonds) and Bishop Whelan elementary (Dorval), I get a little nervous.

Neurotic that I am, however, a lot of things make me nervous. This, however is different from wondering nervously if they're going to have Diet Coke at whatever function I'm attending or hoping the Montreal Alouettes finally come up big in the Grey Cup; this actually matters. My daughter, who will turn four at the end of the month and is currently enrolled in a preschool we are extremely happy with (The Mudpuddle in Pointe Claire, for reference) and we have no interest in moving her anywhere. Nor does my daughter have any interest at all in moving elsewhere. Pre-kindergarten, on the other hand, is a half-day program with day care available at some schools and is a viable option for some parents – especially those families with two working parents. It's a good option for some parents, and an affordable one, at that, at $1,000 for the ten-month school year.

Now, I realize that the world is changing and parents are being asked to do more at work than ever before, but at what point will we stop putting more pressure on kids and just let them be kids?

Children are being pushed into adolescence faster than ever before (the other day, my niece, all of nine years old, pronounced herself a pre-pre-teen. I guess that at 32, I'm now a pre-pre-AARP member?)and subsequently, into adulthood. Part of it is marketing, part of it is the generation that is conditioned to expect instant gratification, and part of it, I'm certain, is a new generation of parents who don't want their children caught behind the others.

And it's sad, frankly. Remember when kindergarten was a half-day of school every day? No more. Pressure from parents inconvenienced by picking up their child and finding adequate care for the rest of the day has forced kindergarteners to face a school day as those faced by sixth-graders. Does anybody really think the good old days were that bad?

No. Unfortunately, it costs so much more to live on Montreal Island these days that for West Islanders, it's often a situation where both parents must work or, you know, go without food.

So, what's the answer? Luckily, not every answer is right for every family. But for us?

No, thanks.