North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1869-12-01

Chll0 worship
The London Spectator of late date
has long article under the above cap.
ton. 1t regards the worship of children
as the growing evil of the day; that it
is increasing with alarming rapidity, and
ought at once to be stopped. 1t thinks
the excessive elaboration of the toys
books, pictures and literature produced
specially for children as all wrong, and
proceeds to give its opinion:
1--WE know very we'll all about "the
fresh young soul and the 'child-heart,
and that sort of thing. 1t is that sort
of thing which has seriously injured the
children of this generation. When art.
lessness gets to know its power, it is
very near to art. Children are too much
consulted in our generation. Their
pleasures are far too numerous and elab-
crate. A stern and healthy frugality,
not to say asceticism, in relation to pro-
viding children with the means of en-
joyment, and in ministering to their
amusement, is the truest kindness to
children. They are as incapable of
valuing the high development and elat-
crate, Asiatic luxury of their modern
playrooms and playthings, as laboring
man would be ofappreciating the luxury
of French cookery. Simplicity, and we
may almost say monotony, are the
essence of true child's amusements.
The same stories and the same rude toys
amuse more the twentieth time than
they did the first, and more the two
hundredth time than they did the twen-
tieth. We have known wooden doll
with one arm give a vast deal more
pleasure, than a winking wax creature
who runs on wheels and cmits sort of
squeaking apology for the word mamma
We don't believe bit in the voluptuous
era for children. A few nursery rhymes,
a few good old fairy tales, wooden
donkey with paniers to take to bed,
(this apparatus, being so specially un-
suitable to bed, has a special charm for
that purpose) box of bricks, whip,
and, in good time, a ball of string and
a knife, arc all the playthings child
needs, and quite enough if his invention
is to have the least play. Load him
with elaborate ingenuities, with pictures
so good that you feel bound to explain
their finer touches, with tales of char
acter where all the fitness of nature and
circumstance are carefully attended to.
with ballads of humor hundred times
as fine and elaborate as he can take in,
and you only overload him and leave no
room for the elastic power of invention
and imagination, which is the best of
all amusemenis for him.
The best thing benevolent uncles and
aunts can do, if they have been SO in
judicious as to buy much of the admir-
able children's litrature of the present
day for their .nephews and nieces, is to
keep it to themselves and try to enjoy
it. If they can do SO, they may be sure
that, in the fitness Of things, it is more
suitable for them than the little ones.
If they cant, it is sign their minds
need refreshing, and they should keep
it till they can. Good Words for the
Young and Aunt Judy are really capital
magazines for the old !; but for the young
they are too luxurious, elaborate and re-
fined. The brown bread of literature
is, after all, more nourishing for child
rem than all these fine fancies and all
this delicate humor. A bare, rugged
and almost grotesque simplicity ofmate-
rial is, we are disposed to maintain, the
best possible food for ninety-nine child
rem out of hundred"