Our responsibility to protect early learning

Eric Clark's prescient article on toy marketing (Special Report, 15 March) admirably continues the growing global movement against the crass commercialisation of childhood recently highlighted by the 'Compass' report. These pernicious trends are surely substantially responsible for the premature 'adultisation' of children and the profane degradation of childhood, which are blighting the current generation of children. Britain's shocking performance in the recent Unicef report of children's well-being is perhaps the most dramatic symptom of this modern malaise. Especially relevant to early childhood workers is Clark's informed challenge to the technologising of early learning. Early learning is far more effective and...