2006-03-03

A little detective work please...

Saw this article in today's NY Times over lunch (on paper of all things) and discussed it with my buddy Doug, a recovering Manhattanite.

This type of article surfaces every year spotlighting the ridiculous lengths that New Yorkers go through to get slots for their tots in the city's private kindergartens and nurseries. Normally, I'd read the article just to amuse myself, but I caught a detail today that would have made an interesting story in its own right:

The fierce competition for private preschool in New York City has been propelled to such a frenzy this year by the increased numbers of children vying for scarce slots that it could be mistaken for a kiddie version of "The Apprentice."
....
Part of the problem is that the number of twins and triplets born to women in New York City has increased, according to city Health Department statistics.

In 1995, there were 3,707 twin births in all the boroughs; in 2003,there were 4,153; and in 2004, there were 4,655. Triplet births have also risen,from 60 in 1995, to 299 in 2004. Because preschools strive for gender and age balance in generally small classes -- and also, some parents suspect, as many potential parental donors as possible -- it is harder to get multiple slots in one class.

Does someone care to take a whack at this in the comments? I have my own conclusion but would be interested in hearing yours.

4 comments:

Jen said...

Sounds to me like a classic case of over-35 women using fertility treatments to help them get pregnant.

Anonymous said...

I admit it...I took a week long trip to NY a little while back...had a few too many to drink and met several women...wore me out!

Mike said...

I think the biggest piece of news here is that Robert has decided to use the "blockquote" tag when quoting material. Thank you. I don't have to go and re-format it.

Jen said...

Mike,

You should have gone into copy-editing.