London, Nov 17 A British academic has criticised the Government's "nappy curriculum" for under-fives, saying that children are being treated as 'mini-adults' by society.

Under the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, children are supposed to hit 69 learning targets by the time they start full-time education, reports the Telegraph.

But Richard House, from Roehampton University's Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, who co-edited the book Childhood, Wellbeing and a Therapeutic Ethos, said it did allow children to have a normal childhood.

Dr House said it was "robbing children more and more of their right to a childhood relatively free of adult anxieties, preoccupations, and intrusions".

Biddy Youell, head of child psychotherapy at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, said that children's development could be stunted unless they were given the opportunity to play and be playful at an early age.

Writing in the same book, she said babies and toddlers learned through games and found it "confusing" when they started school and found that play and work were seen as opposites.

However, she said computer games and electronic baby toys were not as good for young minds as exploring the world and developing relationships with others. (ANI)