Parent and Child Vol. III., Child Study and Training - Mosiah Hall
The child, on the other hand, has an extremely long period of infancy, and
as a result, the nervous system is so plastic that it may be moulded,
fashioned and developed in almost any manner or direction, according to the
will of parents and the nature of the environment. The child, consequently,
may be educated. By education we mean the training and developing of
desirable instincts and capacities and the inhibiting of undesirable ones
so that the child may be able constantly to adjust himself to an
ever-changing environment.
Fiske, in "The Meaning of Infancy," Chapter 1, says: "The bird known as the
fly-catcher no sooner breaks the egg than it will snap at and catch a fly.
This action is not very simple, but because it is something the bird is
always doing, being indeed one of the very few things that this bird ever
does, the nervous connections needful for doing it are all established
before birth, and nothing but the presence of the fly is required to set
the operation going. With such creatures as the codfish, the turtle, or the
fly-catcher, there is nothing that can properly be called infancy. With
them, the sphere of education is extremely limited. They get their
education before they are born. In other words, heredity does everything
for them, education nothing.
"All mammals and most birds have a period of babyhood that is not very
long, but it is on the whole longer with the most intelligent creatures.
The period of helpfulness is a period of plasticity. The creature's career
is no longer exclusively determined by heredity. There is a period after
birth when its character can be slightly modified by what happens to it
after birth, that is, by its experience as an individual. It is no longer
necessary for each generation to be exactly like that which has preceded.
The door is opened through which the capacity for progress can enter.
Horses and dogs, bears and elephants, parrots and monkeys, are all
teachable to some extent, and we have even heard of a learned pig, and of
learned asses there has been no lack in the world.
"But this educability of the higher mammals and birds is, after all, quite
limited. Conservatism still continues in fashion. One generation is much
like another. It would be easy for foxes to learn to climb trees, and many
a fox might have saved his life by so doing; yet quick-witted as he is,
this obvious device has never occurred to him."
The vital problem with parents is how to fill this period of plasticity,
how to provide an educative environment of the right kind.
Luther Burbank, in "The Training of the Human Plant," expresses complete
confidence in the power of the environment through appropriate training to
fashion the normal child, just as he could a plant, into a most delightful
and beautiful specimen of its kind. He says: "Pick out any trait you want
in your child, granted that he is a normal child, be it honesty, fairness,
purity, lovableness, industry, thrift, what not. By surrounding this child
with sunshine from the sky and your own heart, by giving the closest
communion with nature, by feeding this child well-balanced, nutritious
food, by giving it all that is implied in healthful environmental
influences, and by doing all in love, you can thus cultivate in the child
and fix there for all its life all of these traits, and on the other side,
give him foul air to breathe, keep him in a dusty factory or an unwholesome
school-room or a crowded tenement up under the hot roof; keep him away from
the sunshine, take away from him music and laughter and happy faces; cram
his little brains with so-called knowledge; let him have vicious associates
in his hours out of school, and at the age of ten you have fixed in him the
opposite traits. You have, perhaps, seen a prairie fire sweep through the
tall grass across a plain. Nothing can stand before it, it must burn itself
out. That is what happens when you let weeds grow up in your child's life,
and then set fire to them by wrong environment."
Mr. Burbank is probably over-enthusiastic in his belief that natural
education can do everything for the child; but it is certain that
environment does exercise a powerful influence, during the plastic age, in
determining his character.
LESSON IV
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Compare the helplessness of the infant at birth with the ability of the
young of other animals.
2. At one year of age, what is the comparison?
3. What is the significance of prolonged infancy respecting (a) possibility
of adjustment to environment, (b) possibility of training and education,
(c) possibility of profiting from experience, (d) the relation to heredity?
4. What advantage is it that man is born with the germs of many capacities
instead of with a few activities that are perfectly developed?
5. What is the chief function of education?
6. What does Burbank say respecting the possibilities of training?
7. What common-sense training should every child be given during this
period?
Good books, for further study on these points, are: "The Care and Training
of the Child," by Kerr, and "Fundamentals of Child Study," by Kirkpatrick.
If these volumes are in the library or otherwise available, it may be well
to have some member read and give a brief report on one or the other of
them.
THE NEEDS OF THE INFANT
_The Infant's First Needs Are Physical, and May Be Summed up in the Word
Nutrition_
The new-born child differs in nearly all particulars from the adult. It is
very unfortunate that the child in the past has been regarded as a
miniature adult and treated like "a little man."
The structure of muscle and bone and the proportion of various parts of the
body differ materially; the bones of the child for some time are soft and
largely composed of cartilages which may be easily bent out of shape and
permanently injured. The ratio of some of the parts is about as follows:
* * * * *
Height of head of adult to that of infant--2 to 1
Length of body of adult to that of infant--3 to 1
Length of arm of adult to that of infant--4 to 1
Length of leg of adult to that of infant--5 to 1
Besides these easily observed differences, there are others of far more
consequence not easily seen, such as differences in the size, structure and
activity of vital organs, and in the almost total lack of nervous
development in the child as compared with the adult. All of these things
make of the child an individual so different from the adult that he must be
treated in accordance with his own nature and needs and with little regard
to the way in which an adult is considered.
Practically everything that the infant needs may be summed up in the one
word _nutrition_. A sufficient supply of pure milk from the mother is the
one supreme requirement. If this is assured, everything else is almost
certain to follow. Of course, the little one must be kept at the right
temperature, which is comparatively high during the first few months. An
abundance of pure, fresh air also must be supplied to both mother and
child. It is wise for both to spend much time in the open air and to sleep
on a screened porch.
The child should be kept quiet and permitted to sleep as long as nature
dictates. It is a positive sin to snatch the child from its bed, toss it up
and down and screech at it for the edification of curious visitors. Kissing
the child in the mouth should also be positively prohibited. The use of
patent medicines likewise, or even many of the "old mother remedies" should
never be indulged except on the advice of a competent physician. The needs
of the child for some time are strictly physical. Inner forces are at work
which cannot be assisted except indirectly through care of the physical
organism. So far as nervous or mental development is concerned the rule
should be, "Hands off, let Nature take her course."
Immediately after birth certain reflexive and instinctive movements, such
as sucking, crying, sneezing and clinging are manifested; and the sense of
taste and usually smell are also sufficiently active to enable the infant
to take nourishment. No other senses are active and no other movements
possible except the automatic action of vital organs and a few vague
spasmodic twitchings and movements of parts of the body known as impulsive.
Nothing, however, can be done from without to hasten the mental awakening;
Nature in her own due time will do this, and do it much better if not
hurried or interfered with.
LESSON V
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Show that the infant is not an adult in miniature.
2. What are some important differences between the child and the adult?
3. What is the supreme need of the infant? Why?
4. What should be observed in caring for the child?
5. What should be avoided in caring for the child?
6. What should be the rule in early mental development?
7. What is active in the child immediately after birth?
"The Care of the Child in Health," by Oppenheim, will be helpful here. If
the book is in the parents' library, let someone prepare and make a brief
report on it for next lesson.
The following other helps may be had for the asking by writing to the U.S.
Bureau of Education: "Parental Care," by Mrs. West, Series No. 1,
publication No. 4, U.S. Department of Labor, Children's Bureau. The
following chapter is taken from one of these bulletins prepared for parents
by our Government.
CARE OF THE BABY IN SUMMER
_Summer Is a Critical Time for the Infant, During This Time It Should
Receive the Most Careful Attention_
A baby must be kept as cool as possible in summer, because over-heating is
a direct cause of summer diarrhea. Even breast-fed babies find it hard to
resist the weakening effects of excessive heat. Records show that thousands
of babies, most of whom are bottle-fed, die every year in July and August,
because of the direct or indirect effects of the heat. Next in importance
to right food in summer are measures for keeping the baby cool and
comfortable; frequent baths, light clothing and the selection of the
coolest available places for him to play and sleep.
A baby should have a full tub bath every morning. If he is restless and the
weather is very hot, he may have in addition one or two sponge baths a day.
A cool bath at bedtime sometimes makes the baby sleep more comfortably. For
a young baby, the water should be tepid; that is, it should feel neither
hot nor cold to the mother's elbow. For an older baby it may be slightly
cooler, but should not be cold enough to chill or frighten him.
If the water is very hard a tablespoonful of borax dissolved in a little
water may be added to three quarts of water to soften it. Very little soap
should be used and that a very bland, simple soap, like castile. Never rub
the soap directly on the baby's skin, and be sure that it is thoroughly
rinsed off, as a very troublesome skin disease may result if a harsh soap
is allowed to dry on the skin.
Use a soft wash cloth made from a piece of old table linen, towel, knitted
underwear, or any other very soft material, and have two pieces, one for
the face and head and one for the body. The towel should be soft and clean
also. Even in summer the baby should be protected from a direct draft when
being bathed lest he be too suddenly chilled.
A young baby should be carefully held while in the tub. The mother puts her
left hand under the baby's arm and supports the neck and head with her
forearm. But an older baby can sit alone and in summer may be allowed to
splash about in the cool water for a few minutes.
When the bath is finished the baby should be patted dry, and the mother
should take great care to see that the folds and creases of the skin are
dry. Use a little pure talcum powder or dry sifted corn starch under the
arms and in the groin to prevent chafing. If any redness, chafing, or
eruption like prickly heat, develops on the skin, no soap at all should be
used in the bath. Sometimes a starch, or bran, or soda bath will relieve
such conditions.
_Bran Bath_. Make a little bag of cheesecloth and put a cupful of ordinary
bran in it and sew or tie the top. Let this bag soak in the bath, squeezing
it until the water is milky.
_Starch Bath_. Use a cupful of ordinary cooked starch to a gallon of water.
(If the laundry starch has had anything added to it, such as salt, lard,
oil, bluing, it must not be used for this purpose.)
_Soda Bath_. Dissolve a tablespoonful of ordinary baking soda in a little
water and add it to four quarts of water.
_Clothing_. Do not be afraid to take off the baby's clothes in summer. All
he needs in hot weather are the diaper and one other garment. For a young
baby this may be a sleeveless band which leaves the arms and chest bare,
and for an older baby only a loose, thin cotton slip or apron, or wrapper,
made in one piece with short kimono sleeves. Toward nightfall when the day
cools, or if the temperature drops when a storm arises, the baby should, of
course, be dressed in such a way as to protect him from chill.
Cotton garments are best for the baby in summer. All-wool bands, shirts and
stockings should not be worn at any time of the year, and in hot summer
weather only the thinnest, all-cotton clothing should touch the baby's
skin, unless he is sick, when a very light part-wool band may be needed. In
general, neither wool nor starch should be allowed in the baby's clothing
in summer. Wool is too hot and irritating and starched garments scratch the
baby's flesh.
The baby should be kept day and night in the coolest place that can be
found. The kitchen is usually the hottest room in the house, especially if
coal or wood is burned for fuel. While the mother is busy with her work the
baby should be kept in another room, or better, out of doors, if he can be
protected from flies and mosquitoes.
A play pen, such as is described in "Infant Care," a booklet published by
the Children's Bureau and sent free on request, makes it possible to leave
the baby safely by himself on the porch or in the yard, after he is old
enough to creep.
A screened porch on the shady side of the house is a boon to every mother,
affording a cool, secure place for the baby to play and also to sleep. Let
him have his daytime naps on the porch and sleep there at night during the
heat.
Do not be afraid of fresh air for the baby. He cannot have too much of it.
Night air is sometimes even better than day air, because it has been cooled
and cleansed of dust by the dew.
The essentials in the summer care of babies are:
1. Proper food, given only at regular intervals.
2. A clean body.
3. Fresh air, day and night.
4. Very little clothing.
5. Cool places to play and sleep in.
Do not give the baby medicine of any sort unless it is ordered by the
doctor. Never give him patent remedies which are said to relieve the pain
of teething, or to make him sleep, or to cure diarrhea, for such medicines
are likely to do the baby much more harm than good, especially in summer
when the digestion is so easily disturbed. It is so much easier to keep the
baby well than it is to cure him when he is sick, that wise mothers try to
take such care of the baby that he will not be sick.
Do not fail to give the baby a drink of cool water several times a day in
hot weather. Boil the water first, then cool it, and offer it to the baby
in a cup, glass, or nursing bottle. Babies and young children sometimes
suffer cruelly for lack of drinking water.
LESSON VI
QUESTIONS ON TEXT
1. What are the chief causes of sickness and death among children during
the summer time?
2. What are the best preventatives for baby ills during the hot months?
3. Discuss the importance of bathing and tell how to bathe the child.
4. What is the best way to dress the child during the heated time of the
year?
5. What provisions should be made for his sleeping?
6. Discuss the use of patent medicines.
7. What should be done regarding the drink of the child? Why?
8. What can best be done by the well-to-do and by the community as a whole
to protect and preserve the babies?
_Reference_: Selections from "Child Nature and Child Nurture," by St. John.
CHILD ACTIVITY
_This Activity Is Expressed in Simple Reflexes, Complex Instincts, or
Internally Caused Impulses_
As already mentioned, the physical needs of the infant are supreme. Proper
nourishment, the right temperature, bathing, and an abundance of fresh,
pure air constitute all of his requirements. The child is endowed, however,
with an enormous capacity for movement which is the outward expression of
his awakening mental life.
The first great mental fact to note is that the infant is born with the
capacity to respond to stimuli both from without and within. Touch the lips
of the new-born child with the nipple or even the finger, and immediately
the sucking instinct takes place; let a bright light shine into the open
eye, and the iris at once contracts; plunge the little one into cold water
or let it be subject to any bodily discomfort and at once the crying reflex
takes place. The simple, direct responses to stimuli such as sneezing,
coughing, wrinkling, crying, response to tickling, etc., are termed
reflexes. The more complex responses which are purposeful and are designed
to aid or protect the organism, such as sucking, clinging, fear, anger,
etc., are called instincts. Besides the movements which are the direct
result of stimulation, other movements more or less spasmodic and
uncoordinated take place which seem to be the result of internal causes not
easily understood.
The whole body is usually involved in these movements, and they are at
first extremely random in expression. These are termed impulses and are
undoubtedly due to the fact that the infant is a living, breathing
embodiment of energy, seeking the means of self-expression. In other words,
the infant is active from the beginning, and the slightest kind of internal
disturbance is sufficient at times to turn loose an immense number of
impulsive movements. This activity at birth is entirely uncontrolled. It
seems that in contrast to reflexes and instincts which have prearranged
bodily means of expression, the impulses must be subjected to a long period
of training and education before they are capable of being controlled and
transformed into that voluntary movement which is sometimes called will
power.
The immense number and strength of these random, impulsive movements in the
infant is in great contrast to the few, instinctive, unchangeable modes of
action in lower animals. As already stated, most animals come to the world
with the few movements necessary to their existence already provided for
and so fixed that future adjustment to new conditions is practically
impossible. The child, on the other hand, has marvelous capacity for
adjustment to new conditions and presents, therefore, possibilities for
training and education that have probably never yet been fully realized in
any child.
The reflexes and instincts, however, are much more fixed and certain in
their action than are the impulses. No matter what the training and
education of an individual may be, he will sneeze, even in church, if the
right stimulus is present; or he will cry and shed tears in public if the
melodrama excites the proper nerve centers. When the sex instinct is fully
aroused or the sentiment of love completely awakened, no one can foretell
what the action of the otherwise sane person will be.
All that training and education can do is to inhibit under ordinary
conditions certain undesirable tendencies and instincts and to strengthen
through exercise those that are desirable; and even then when a crisis
comes, the old, hereditary instinct is apt to break through its thin veneer
and actually frighten the individual at the unexpected strength it reveals.
Slap any man in the face and see what chance his life-long education has
against the old barbarous instinct for fighting. But notwithstanding the
strength and tenacity of instincts, training and education may inhibit
some of them and so transform others into useful habits that for most
purposes in life their subjugation seems complete.
A tremendous, almost divine power rests, therefore, in the hands of
parents--the power to mold and fashion and transform the impulses and
instincts of their children into whatsoever ideals of life and conduct they
themselves possess. Where is the parent who fully realizes his privilege
and completely performs his sacred duty?
LESSON VII
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What are the supreme needs of the infant?
2. What is the first mental fact to note?
3. Illustrate reflex movement, instinctive movement, impulsive movement.
4. Contrast the impulses of children with the instincts of lower animals.
5. What opportunity is given parents through the impulsive movements of the
infant?
6. What only may training and education hope to accomplish with the
instincts of children?
7. What almost divine power is possessed by parents in the training of
children?
8. Quote from the Doctrine & Covenants also a passage that deals with the
responsibility of parents in teaching the gospel to their children.
_Reference_: For a further study of _instincts_, selections from
"Fundamentals of Child Study," by Kirkpatrick, will be found helpful. Also
chapters from "Elementary Psychology," by Phillips.
HABIT
_Habit Is the Tendency to Make Certain Actions Automatic. It Is a Great
Time Saver, and Forms the Basis for Training and the Acquirement of Skill_
Once activity starts in any direction, the tendency is to persist until
satisfaction is reached. If the movement results in pain or even
discomfort, or if the end reached is not satisfactory, the movement will be
inhibited or discontinued and probably will not be attempted the second
time. Whenever the end reached does give satisfaction, the activity is sure
to be repeated, and in these later attempts, efforts will be made to reach
the end more quickly and with less effort. This is done through eliminating
the unnecessary movements and combining the right ones until the complete
process is performed with ease and skill.
The repetition alone is not so important as the intelligent improvement of
the act through practice until a satisfactory degree of skill is obtained.
After the desired end is reached, attention to the process will cease, but
thereafter whenever the right stimulus is presented the act will be
repeated, and this will be done with much less effort than was first
employed; further repetitions of the act require less and less conscious
effort until at length it will be performed almost with the same sureness
and ease with which reflex or automatic movements take place. Any activity
whatsoever when reduced to this automatic stage is termed habit.
The importance of habit in the development of the child can scarcely be
over-estimated; in truth, it is the one great process which dominates
nine-tenths of all the activity of the individual throughout his entire
life. Habits ought to be our most helpful and reliable servants, but they
are too often enemies that bind us hand and foot and prevent the
realization of our highest possibilities.
Much of the training and education of the child consists, therefore, in
acquiring a series of useful habits and in inhibiting acts that might
result in habits that are undesirable. A child left to himself or
improperly reared will acquire all sorts of undesirable habits which may
have the effect of hampering his every movement and which may cause
eventually his disgrace and failure in life. Even the adult who fails to
practice the details of the various activities connected with his vocation
until they result in effective habits of work will usually fail, while the
man who has mastered the details of his occupation through reducing them to
a series of effective habits will surely succeed. Note the ease and
perfection with which the skilled workman performs his labor and compare
it with the slow, slovenly work of the unskilled laborer.
One important development of the future will be the employment of an expert
in each occupation whose business it will be to teach the workmen the most
efficient and economical way of doing his particular work. Even now in many
factories high-priced experts are secured whose duty it is to teach the
workmen how to eliminate all unnecessary movements in their work and how to
combine the right movements necessary to accomplish each task in the best
way and in the quickest time. In many instances, the output of the factory
has been increased from twenty-five to forty per cent, through this
sensible procedure.
Theoretically, good habits should be as easy to acquire as bad ones, but
practically this is not the case. Only a few bad habits are the result of
conscious choice and effort; for example, the acquiring of a liking for
tobacco and liquor, the taste of which for most children is disagreeable if
not nauseating at first, but this taste, through practice, often becomes an
uncontrollable craving. Most bad habits, however, come about unconsciously
and are the result of "just letting things happen." This, undoubtedly, is
what the proverb means which states, "Man is born to trouble as the sparks
are to fly upward."