Zeno's Bar & Grill

An article in Thursday’s NY Times sings a familiar refrain: “Pressure’s on. In the fight for play-group spots, elbows are out.” It’s no surprise to us that parents are fighting tooth and nail to get their kids into the right classes—we see it every day. In fact, we’ve been guilty of it ourselves, although we have never stooped as low as offering to buy a grand piano for a music program or sending gourmet gift baskets in efforts to get our kids moved up the waiting lists (two real-life examples from the NY Times article.)

Eventually, though, you just have to stop the insanity and realize that it’s not going to kill your child’s enthusiasm for music if you don’t start him or her on lessons at age 18 months. Aside from the extreme competitive spirit fostered by scarcity of positions, the classes can also get hideously expensive. In our communities at least, lessons will set you back some serious bucks (typical classes range from $20-60 per hour).

What’s next for today’s privileged youngsters? We predict (and fervently hope for) an eventual backlash that will have the preschool set saying “tune in, turn on and drop out” as they put on tie dyed tee shirts to finger paint at home.

--Melanie & Kelly