In the dog-eat-dog world of competitive parenting, many parents are going so far as to send their three and four-year-olds to learning centers or hire private tutors to prepare them for kindergarten, according to an article in Parenting magazine.

The trend is fueled by a tutoring industry targeting young children and parents’ fears surrounding high-stakes testing in elementary school, the magazine said. And if you think this trend is restricted to elite urbanites, think again: these tutoring centers are popping up in rural areas and suburbs, too.

"When my daughter started first grade, some kid at her table called her a 'toddler' because she couldn't read," says Virginia Shea of Sunnyvale, California. Turns out her reading level was completely age-appropriate, but some of her classmates had been given a head start.

Before you freak out that your child isn’t receiving reading and math drills -- or maybe not -- all the experts interviewed by the magazine said there is no evidence that such early learning has an impact on future academic success.

”I have yet to see any statistics that prove that teaching reading and math to very little kids makes a long-term difference in their academic careers,” says Michael Thompson, Ph.D., coauthor of Raising Cain and The Pressured Child. “Just because a child can read in kindergarten doesn’t mean he’ll be a better reader in fourth grade.” Also, says Thompson, “a reward-based academic program can make kids anxious. You start seeing stomachaches, headaches, acting out, and sleep issues. Is it that important to teach four-year-olds that it’s a dog-eat-dog world?”

That said, not all children will react this way. Some kids might even thrive in this kind of achievement-based program. And just as there is no evidence that early academics do any good, there’s likewise no evidence they do any harm.

Whew! Here is another opinion by a former admissions officer at an elite private elementary school, which at least in the Bay Area, I also blame for fueling parental angst: