Dirty is the new thing

So I read this article, in probably Oprah's zine or Real Simple while waiting for Nick to finish his vision therapy, about the new trend in parenthood- letting your children be children, and just letting them "get dirty". Sorry I can't quote the source, but it was great and novel idea....how after a decade of parents one upping each other, holding their young children to the highest standard, and basically scheduling every minutes of their waking lives with classes, training, or some kind of mental or physical skill, the new trend is to let kids play in the mud, act their age, and not be expected to act like a product of the parent's wildest dreams. I was so excited about this article, to know that finally, maybe parents can start concentrating more on letting their kids ride trikes, finger paint, and do kids's stuff rather than:

1. learning Mandarin Chinese in order to fully compete with the global economy.
2. Excelling in soccer, baseball or any other sport so much so that they wet their pants every time practice season starts.
3. Or teaching their kids at age 4 to speak to adults like they are robotic spin-offs of their own parents, saying things like " I think this year's vintage Malbec is the best wine and much prefer it over last year's Australian Merlot".
I mean, let's kids be kids before they grow up and terrorize us with their own hormonal wisdom and knowledge, please! The article was saying that alot of parents, faced with new financial hardships and one income households, are downsizing their kid's schedules, and finding that their children are more focused, less tired, more happy and less stressed about fulfilling their parent's high standards. Did this start with the whole American Idol, reality show crap we've had to deal with the past ten years? Partly so, it said. Parents suddenly thought their children were untapped vessels of high i.q. talent, artistry or athletisism.
It's not to say we shouldn't want the best education for our young offspring, or want them to be around the best teachers, mentors and friends. Just to say, let them play in the mud every now and then, let them ride bikes, get sweaty and enjoy an ice cream rather than a low-cal frozen yogurt becuase you're worried about their figure...they are kids! Let them be...and reap the rewards of a happy child who falls asleep with visions of birthday cakes and playgrounds rather than visions of mommy teaching the Arabic language and daddy giving instructions on mancala to a 3 year old.
They grow up soon enough, don't they?