Too Much, Too Soon?

How to nurture young children's well-being and learning to reverse the erosion of childhood? Children's lives have been speeded up by commercialisation, 'adultification', and the government's 'nappy curriculum' which 'schoolifies' them and pushes quasi-formal learning too soon. Now, in twenty-three hard-hitting chapters, leading educators, researchers, policy makers and parents advocate alternative ways ahead for slowing childhood, better policy-making and, above all, the 'right learning at the right time' in children's growth — learning when they are developmentally ready.Following an extensive introduction by Richard House, looking at 'toxic childhood' in context, the book is divided into four parts: Policy Making and the Erosion of Childhood: the Case of the Early Years Foundation Stage The Foundations of Child Development and Early Learning: Perspectives, Principles and Practices Advocacy, Research and Policy Making for Children's Early Years Learning Ways Ahead to Achievable Futures