I have spent years in early childhood education, watching children learn—not through worksheets, but through wonder.
➤ I’ve seen a child spend an hour moving stones in a puddle, figuring out water flow.
➤ I’ve seen three-year-olds teach themselves turn-taking—not because an adult told them to, but by experiencing fairness and problem-solving.
➤ I’ve seen a child, lost in deep concentration, slowly thread a bead onto a string—immersed in learning.
And every day, I ask:
If this is how children are wired to learn, why are we forcing them to unlearn it?
Childhood is not a race, yet we’re turning it into one.
➤ We rush children into formal schooling when they need movement.
➤ We push early academics when their minds crave discovery.
➤ We structure play when play is nature’s best teacher.
Play has survived natural selection because it is essential for learning.
So why are we taking it away?
When India’s NEP 2020 raised the Class 1 entry age to six, it recognized early childhood (ages 3-8) as a unique developmental phase, led by play and inquiry.
This should have been a win for childhood.
Instead, schools used it to expand admissions:
➤ Pre-nursery for 3-year-olds became “essential” for success.
➤ Parents were warned their child would “fall behind” if they didn’t start early.
➤ Early years education was absorbed into formal structures, losing its identity.
This was not NEP 2020’s vision.
This was the commercialization of childhood.
So, the real question isn’t, “When should children start academics?”
It’s:
➤ Can formal schools nurture a child’s natural pace and curiosity?
➤ Or does deep learning require something more human, responsive, and respectful of childhood itself?
There will always be pressure to standardize childhood.
There will always be fear that without early academics, children will “fall behind.”
But fall behind whom?
Childhood isn’t something to “get through” to become an adult.
It’s where they become who they are.
So, when we think about what children need to succeed, maybe it’s not about how early they start school—
but how deeply they feel seen, heard, and trusted.
Because what stays with them isn’t handwriting practice or worksheets.
It’s how they felt when they struggled, explored, and made mistakes.
And that, more than anything, shapes who they become.
Pallavi is the Co-Founder & CEO at The Nurturant: Transforming early childhood education with holistic, research-driven approaches. She is also the Founder of Tinker Lab, leading a lab school revolution with child-led, inquiry-based learning
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