Is Early Childhood care/learning burning our kids out?

I have just watched an article on Close Up tonight about youth employment and how young adults are failing school and as a consequence employment.  But what caught my attention was a Doctor that stated that many young children between 8 - 12 are turning off schools and becoming disenfranchised.  Ok that's alarming.  I'd have thought that the actual age would have coincided with puberty, but no, kids are burning out as young as 8?

Now I'm no psychologist but I do think it's a real worry and one worth investigating.  What factors are inherent in society to cause children to switch off at a young age and as far as I can see there are three reasons that I would like to offer up:

1.  One Parent Families

2.  Computer technology in schools.

3.  Starting "training/schooling" too early.

First off the One Parent Family issue.  Too many children from all socioeconomic groups are getting an unbalanced upbringing and when they come to school they begin to associate the teacher as the other parent, but become disenchanted when they lose that teacher every year, just when they had managed to come to trust them.  It's probably out of left field, but could explain that after 4 or five trust episodes, they switch off.

Secondly, computer technology.  There is no evidence to suggest this is an issue, but I am left wondering how much teacher and parent contact is eroded by too much time on computer technology.  I have witnessed first hand how this affects my 13 year old niece.  She'd sooner lock herself away in the bedroom with her laptop than mingle with family and if this endemic in schools, it's a plausible excuse.  Lack of direct teacher involvement, like parent involvement disenfranchises the child.

And thirdly, the killer.

Are we starting children too early in education or care facilities for under fives?  Are they being forced to attend such facilities at such a young age when they are still have bonding issues with family?  Some start as early as 6 months, so by the time they are 8, they have become sick and tired of being institutionalised and are just not able to cope when teachers and parents think their child is fine.  Children are largely forced to become socialised and independent at a far too young age.

In closing, I suspect I might be wrong, but it is certainly worth discussing the topic.  If kids are burning out between 8 and 12, then they are wasted by 15, and by 17 may display social symptoms of a mental health nature or in the way they interact (or not) with a wider society.  Please share this if you think it deserves wider notice and more discussion.