Parents holding children back in school

When I was growing up, my parents wouldn't buy us a video game system until about 13 years old. If that.

Just want to point out that I had a Nintendo since I was five, and later a gameboy that I played all the time, but I also read a lot despite that. When I was a kid I was all about the gameboy and books, and eventually books won out, so dropped the video games. Now I write and don't watch hardly any T.V. Then again, my parents read to me a lot, so I'm positive that must have had some effect as well.

My God, it really saddens me how many kids hate reading and writing.

Honestly... the top five students at my high school (me among them) were either 17 when they graduated or had just turned 18 within the last three months. And you know what we all had in common? We actually preferred books and spending time outdoors to television and video/computer games. I know personally this is because my dad always fostered a love of books and reading in me as a child, and my parents never let me watch more than an hour of tv on school days--up until high school, even! Then again, the parents who are holding their children back are probably also the parents who are outsourcing their own jobs to nannies while they pursue their careers, and will probably end up schmoozing the alumni at some high-brow university in an attempts to ensure that their child gets in. Bah.

this strikes me as being so... american. parents holding kids back, i mean.

everybody's different. some kids need an extra year and some need one or two (or three) less.

omg! somebody's self-esteem is at stake! not THAT!

I like books just as much as the other guy, I mean, c'mon, I'm a writer. HOWEVER, nothing can ever replace the outdoors for me. I still prefer to be outside in the summer/spring/part of fall and inside either reading, playing video games or watching movies during the winter.