More and more children under the age of six are now in school. The sweeping social, economic, and technological changes of the last decade have made school an increasingly important part of our children's lives at ever-younger ages. We no longer see early childhood schools as the luxury our parents once did. For many parents it has become a necessity. As our society has become ever-more complex and our lives more fragmented, our needs and expectations for school have grown accordingly. We expect our schools to give our children the kind of education that will enable them to get into the top colleges and universities. We also expect our schools to take on new roles that have traditionally belonged to us as mothers and fathers but that we many no longer have either the time or the energy to handle it. We rely on schools to teach our children not only all the things schools have traditionally taught children but also to teach them everything from good table manners to sound moral values. As a result of these changes many schools are seriously considering taking on early childhood education.