Serious v Recreational

I had an interesting conversation with the parents of a relatively new student today. During the conversation we discussed the students progress in our classes. While interested in the student continuing with training towards a Black Belt they asked about the difference between adult and children's curriculum. They were worried that in the future their child would have difficulty moving from child Black Belt into adult Black Belt. I explained that while the classes for children are kinder and gentler they learn everything the adults learn. Children learn the same forms, kicks, sparring techniques and protocols as the adults. They also have the same 6 month preparation process prior to the final test.
I have begun to think about my answers and how they actually relate to my students. While my answers were definitely truthful my question is more about curriculum. While at the USAT Nationals I attended a full day coaches conference. Everyone concurred that children could learn everything and do everything adults learn. Children will adapt, classes and drills should be less brutal and there should be more recovery time between drills but there is no reason they cannot learn the same techniques. If we hold them to the same standard should we really spend so much time playing games and making sure they are always having fun. If the average student is only in class two to three hours a week wouldn't they be better served working on curriculum then playing games. There are ways to make traditional TKD drills fun. Should we, for the lack of a better description be "dumbing the classes down" to keep everyone happy or should we not worry about losing the recreational student who won't put forth the effort but likes the social aspects? Do we raise the bar and expect more of all the other students and go for quality over quantity? Will this ultimately bring more students in to the school? Or do we risk becoming elitist and losing our student count?