I have now seen several posts on Instagram from parents of (roughly) 4-year olds ‘graduating’ from nursery school. It’s that time of year.

Yes, they looked charming in their gowns and caps, clutching their graduation certificates. Their parents are, to my certain knowledge, hard-working people with not a lazy bone in their bodies. If anything, they work TOO hard, too frequently away from their children, deferring pleasure of time with their kids in order to provide for a brighter, more secure future. These parents understand the concept of delayed gratification and hard work. They know that most good things take time and effort and that rewards come after work, not before.

So why do they think it’s cute to pose with their kids who are posing with all the paraphernalia of a university degree, just for turning up to nursery school? It’s not even as if the reward, praise and ‘day of the centre of attention’ was for getting themselves there themselves; there was no option. Mummy/daddy/ the nanny got them out of bed, into the car and threw them through the nursery school door every single morning they weren’t actually covered in chickenpox or coughing their lungs up.

The single most important quality to teach kids is the value of work and the genuine pleasure of that effort being recognised and rewarded.

So, no prizes for the parents or the schools I’m afraid. But lots of pretty photos, of course.

Cute but daft.