As every preceding generation implants their ideals and ambitions upon their children, so too they bear down their insecurities unto them. Quite recently it's become quite fashionable for upper and middle-class families to tutor their toddlers before preschool, in the hopes that their kindred will embrace a passion for learning and effectually grow up to become something like doctors, lawyers, or some other form of learned scholars.
Fueling this fad is the parents undue insecurity about their child's competitiveness in the areas of higher education and in the corporate workforce, and thus wanting the very best for their children, they stick their little one(s) with a private tutor in the hopes that they'll excel in preschool which should pave the way to a life long passion for learning and success. Three, four, and even five year-olds are now being expected by some parents to read, write, and demonstrate some basic skills in arithmetic. Rather than waiting for their child to start preschool or kindergarten to learn these skills, these parents believe that if they don't start now at this tender age, then their child will not academically excel above their peers and fulfill their parent's dreams of having a doctor in the family (among other prestigious occupations).
But unknown to the parents, this recent practice is nothing more than an example of deceptive marketing practices devised by companies which make a buck or two from offering assistance for students with their homework.
Among the many companies in this industry, two of the most notable and leading are the “Sylvan Learning Centers” and the “Kaplan Learning Company.” Both of these companies offer tailor-made educational services to students ranging from the elementary to the post-graduate level, and for the most part they offer a fine service to the students who need and can afford them. But what is