I can also speak for the under three set here. I have noticed that there is definitely a spectrum of parental involvement in early childhood education. There have been many times where I felt uneasy about how another parent seemed to be pushing their child, burdening them with such high expectations to be advanced, or creating a dynamic where love and attention becomes conditional on academic progress.

But, I will say that since DD has turned three I have found myself longing for a teacher's guide for her. It is hard. What do I teach her? What do I shield her from? What is the answer to her question, anyway? (Do insects have blood? I think. I dunno.)

And, wouldn't it be nice to have an idea about what is appropriate to teach a three year old about history? Can I have faith that she will guide me in the right direction? I don't know.

For the record, DD learned her letters after we told her it was a "g" sewn on her pants (for Gap. And, then we had to correct her when she labeled every other letter she saw as a "g.") She learned her shapes from a book with her favorite character, a monkey named Mimi, in it. She learned her colors one day sitting on my FIL's couch fiddling with a "quiet activity" book they had gotten at a garage sale.

We have always shied far away from learning toys. I went crazy about purchasing open ended toys sans batteries that would grow with my child. So, we have never did leapfrog or vTech. I have never bought a single workbook or curriculum. My DD does not watch educational TV.

Don't get me wrong, we are teaching her a ton. I admit to letting her play starfall and buying her hundreds of books, and, I will surely take all the credit on teaching her to read, thank you very much. Do you know how much I friggin' talked about phonics with this girl? But, this gives you an idea how it went.

I remember bribing her to take bites of food (she is a horrible eater,) with state facts and calming her down in the car with word games before she turned two. Even now, we goad her to bed with a promise of a "conversation" (about photosynthesis, cells, US presidents, etc.) The other day she came up to me with a tambourine and said, "give me a word, and if I read it right go crazy!"

Anyway, that is all to say that I do feel like I am at a crossroads here, and that I do feel some pressure to take a more active role in structuring her education. But, how do I do that without expecting to much of her? Also, I guess I do believe that IQ is inborn and will develop naturally. So, as long as I don't "coleslaw" her... Truth is I'm kind of lazy, and I fear I will just muck things up. So, maybe that is what it comes down to.