They were so eager for their children to grow up, they created a miniature version of the transition into full blown adulthood and responsibility; thus creating an adorable if objectively bizarre parody of the actual thing. If you’ve been reading all this way, you might expect me to say “Typical”, but in all fairness, Little and Tweener parents are just as guilty of this.
I suppose that in normal parents, the desire to see your children grow up is a natural impulse, and at ages four and five, that big one-eight, just seems so far away. Cutesy faux graduation ceremonies like mine were a kind of social methadone to ease off both the anxiety and to celebrate that yes, their sons and daughters were in fact growing up.