What parent doesn't want their child to achieve and get a head start on the path to success? But, life today for young children has become a dress rehearsal for type-A adulthood— a competition to be the best. Parents have been led to believe that enrolling their kids full time in special classes, extracurricular academics, competitive sports, and other structured, high-commitment activities will give them an edge— leading to a pressure cooker environment that can interfere with kids' natural development. Young kids can spend their free time finger painting, playing in the sandbox, inventing games, and still turn out to be smart, talented, successful adults. In A Running Start, renowned educational expert Rae Pica looks at the many misconceptions under which today's parents are laboring. Among them are beliefs that "earlier is better" when it comes to athletics and academics; achievement is more important than play. This book shows how learning through play is vital to a child's development and fostering their unique personality. A creative childhood is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, and Pica offers techniques on how to raise a child with the right balance of play and structured activity.