Nebraska advertiser., 1856-10-18

coMpANr0NgHIp Of CaILD-TALK.

COMPREHENSIVE Of CHILD-TAIK
The following is part Of an article
Oh voice-music by II. Storrs Willis
Listen to the mother, talking COM
fort to her ypung babe The comfort
is surely not Id the wlfdsEfftr the T
Chi md lerst mis- not orle Of thea. IT I
les, of COd1ise, then IN fRe music Of
the words. 1t is the mother tone Of
voice-her inusic-which the child
understands md receives into its little
troubled heart. - & f II,
Twas lately one of acirele Of friends
where the conversation turned upon
the prevailing manner5of talking. with
very young children. One friend
insisted strongly that mothers Should
talk common sense to their offspring;
that it was just as Ineligible, and in
far better taste than nonsense in
short that all this so-ealled baby talk
was as unnecessary as it was foolish.
Now, common sense is a very excel
lent thing; but--let us not overlook
the occasional uses of nonsense. The
truth is, as / have already stated, very
young children understand neither
sense nor nonsense. They only feel.
| But the words they can not feel-not
comprehending them; it is, Of course,
then, the music Of the words, the tones
of the yoice--if they feel at. ALL
Music, and particularly a mothers
music, is the very language of feeling;
and it is a smother tongue" perfectly
well understood by the youngest child
If a mother, for instance, is reprov-
ling child, be the child ever SO young,
the reproof seems perfectly wellunder-
| stood; and we see its little watchful
eye fixed steadily on the face of it's
mother. sEIfv cheering or enliHening,
or froliclsing, the child seems equally
, to understand what is meant. And
here again it is the tone of reproof,
and the tone of cheerfulness, and the
tone of playfulness which is understood
not the word
Does it not naturally follow, then,
that the talking of plain common sense
to such young children would be wholly
impracticable just for this reason
|, that we should fall inevitably into the
common sense tone of voice; which is
! the even and less musical voice of the
J intellect, not the voice of the heart!
We should compose no pleasant music
: to what we are saying. Children
j therefore, would not understand US
] And though it might seem to us sounC
4 common sense enough, it might haply
' appear to the children great nonsense
i for they would not understand; MOI
: would they long listengto u.s.
Let any mother try the experimen
: ! and make a very sensible remark t,
! her child, with the sensible tone 0
e voice thereto appertaining; and Sc,
. what degree of success that remarl
- will have with her child.
: We contended, therefore, with ou
y disputing friend, that a mothers tall
e with her young child should be left, il
Is all its naturalness and loving signifc
!. ance, even as it is--without the moderI
: improvements. The motherly instiuc
! is as beautiful as it is inevitable; an
q in no, case is it more beautiful an
70 truthful than as shown in her using
IN language with her child which it wi
10 understandable language Of music
: The words are ng-and they g
ce for nothing. They serve merely as
< means of articulation; and this is a
m the mother means by them. The mus
nj is not set to the words; but the word
ut are simply used as syllables for th
. music. And if listening, grown-u
# persons-for whom, albeit, the col
81 versation is not intended-quarr,
with the language of mother
sweet cOmmuning with her child, |,
them close their intellect and ope
OF their heart to the frequently irresistih
81 charm of such nlotherly melody-ar
ne they will be content.
~