Just when you think this generation's somehow actually different...while researching our new magnifying glass stool, I came across this Time magazine article from 1964 about ambitious parents and the boom of "so-called educational toys":
Advanced placement begins in the nursery, say some perhaps overly worried child development experts: by the time a kid is ready for school, he has already reached more than half his general "achievement level" for life. So educators have awarded Santa Claus a Ph.D., and preschoolers with well-heeled, ambitious parents are acquiring toys that teach concepts of mathematics and science almost before the children can speak in whole sentences.But be careful, says Time: "Many so-called educational toys are mediocre gadgets whose makers hope to cash in on the wave of interest in early childhood education."
Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to becoming my parents.
New Breed of Toys, Time, 12/4/64 [time-proxy.yaga.com]
