The morning call., 1893-10-01
THE CHILD'S MIND.
: %
A Study. in Juvenile Thinking.

<reasoh:;: that the reasoning faculties. are
not developed in the child until the ,ge VI
: ten or twelve years Is reached. ~ =.
=: Those who associate much with thildrBn
may be inclined to regard this statement
with some incred 1lity. i reasoning 1ethe
drawing of conclusions from premises,
certainly itwould seem as though cur little
: friends do that, with an irresistible logic,
and at an exceedingly early age, s,7
II L remember thinking this on an occasion
when the performance of bright six
$year-old came to my obserystion. He was
a pupilin a country school whose teacher,
although a young girl not yet out OF her.
teens. was the. victim ofa most unfertu-
nate: obesity Like most of her fell ow->
Sufferers she: was. quite sensitive ION. the
subject. On one .occa sion she was giving
her class: an: exercise IN com posing brief
sentences. tbe verb for which she herself
. Sugges ted: Nov: Children" she said,.
finally, ::"each give me a sen tenee con tain
ing the word expani. ~ p went little
paw. .'If you pie ase, what does 1t mean =.
why; expand means<@to- grow, JimmIe,
was the reply. ~: -:
3 Jimmie: kept his eyes steadfastly upon
his teacher until his. turn came to recite,
when he announced his sentence in ac-
cents of pride. 1t was comprehensive. IL
brief. -: -. -. =:
i. .s.Giris expand. 'sbe said. and sat down
in the:fond consciousness of having exc
cuted MASTERPIECES. - :. IS: :z.. ..
: 1t lis curious GO note the impressions
children get from persons. ana things and
. to. study the assQciations. of ideas in the:
: little brains. They are so quick TO correct
-yotl.wh hen. they. think you nave made 3
mistake. ..==3.:
!. s = guess you mean a lady" I" said awee
h bJ,..f = nth bad
spoken. of scertain person. as woman.
: ttN said his teacher. Il meant to say
woman. She il. a man -; oh, no. she's
alady.". : =; T. !: = = :: " -. ..ssir
:. sWhatis:the difference, dear. between a
lady and q woman ?" he was asked.
:. 'Why't-in- tones nf contem pt that one
should need to ask such a qrestion-"a
lady is a lady, but a woman fs-kind of
fatter, you know" "ahesftatlng a moment in
an effort to fud Just the right word TO ex-
press his idea that a lady should be sonre-
thing just..a little finer than '.mere
woman -: -; =:
Here was reasoning. logica, enough,
though from false premises derived, plain
~ enough, from our o wn absurd. and arC-
,hcial misuse Of these two words. If chill
:dren do not reason they can. at,least be 4
reasoned with. aud this. toa, at a far earlier
age than most of us are aptto believe, In
fact | have never seen child who could
understand ordinary simple language who :
could not be reasoned with. 81: =
"lTaintfair" said five-year-Old Margie
the other day, when her teacher called. her
back from running te the" door to learn
fair if you dom let nobody go TO We door"
: "Wonld it be fair, Marge," was the
question, 'if you all went to the door and
broke up the whole class?,.
:. MOO" reluctantly. =: ::
We'll, # you cannot all go, would it be
smile, at one :grasped the logic :Of the
situation and remained quietly in her seat.
Logic always appeals to a. child's mind |
uutilt mind has been: warped and rem
dered less clear vIsioned by the con ami
mating influence of its elders. s The child
has to be taught TO play sleght-of-hand
tricks with facts, and to make five out OF;
two and Two in the convenient: fashion \
that has become the habit Of the growD-up
world: We are the Illogical. ones. Lpftto
himself the child is. usually direct, logical
and painfully literal: Whoever sets out to
read aloud to:lcbidren and TO explain to
them what is read s oon crimes TO appEe-s
@ciate this quality of:the childish BRAIN; and
to-Teallze of timsefin the language Of the
immortal Grimm, that ''he is no more SCI:
entfc than any other ass. ~: -. : -
How can rhat"be, aun tie P" asked my
seven-yeaT-old nephew, interrnptiDg me
once IN my reading of the story OF the
. CltdtiOus IL soy ;sunA1 I4iO GfSBtnR
1.-The morning were the. first day Why,
the evening and the morning would only
make IA night" :. =" -
>. endeaYdred to make clear to him some
thing of the Hebrew reckoning, but; Tho W
we'll i succeeded may be Inferred from his /
Comment" But should think God 'ud
know how to tell time" - -:
For my own part. / think: it Is rather |
dangerous to attempt to teach religious i
truths to very young children. They can
only grasp them in their crudest forms. |
and not even then intelligenty. Above |
all. it. is dangerous TO asSo late ihthe child
ist. mind the ideas of God and .punish shmenf. /
/ once heard told, as an instance >0f- child
fsh faith, the pitIfuf prayer of a wee baby.
who had been naughty; and had. after
ward fallen down and bumped her head;
"Please, God" she prayed, forgive: me.
and don't bump me any more. Fancy |
the baby's ideal OF a Supreme Being, and,
think. 100, of the absolute injury, to brain
quality, resultant from being allowed to !
retain So grossly illogical an idea. The /
young mind does not: soon recover .from:I
:such conception of Deitv:
My own childish idea of God was spoiled \
~atan early age bysthe speech oil spnseless-I
nurse L had angered her by a jnyenIle
-impertln ence as she was undressing me
FOR the night. and as / knelt by my little.
bed for the customary "Now:.I lay me-,
she said to me-: You naughty girl. II
should think you wouldn't dare pray.
How do yen know God won't strike ynn
dead for praying after being so naughty?"
With genuine. juvenile logic | reasoned
that 1t was dangerous to pray when one
had been naughty, and as / had an uncom-
Portable consciousness of being nearly
always naughtg 1 dared not expose myself
to unknown dangers. and for years said
no more prayers.
OF course it. never entered my head to
doubt my nurses knowledge on the sub
1ect; Despite the fact of their natural ar
rant skepticlsm oh spiritual pDints, chill
dIen have almost un bounded faith in I
adult prowess Father and mother, and |
Tue young man who comes to see sister, |
they are very bt 10 think know everything |
and can do anything.
hearu a six-year-old girl state this fact |
once with wonderful cIearness, She had
hidden genteman's cane at a picnic |
party, and by so doing had delayed train. I
thrown large number of people into con. |
fusion and brought down upon her head i
the open reproaeh and dsapproval of sew
eral unthinklng members OF the nartv /
who, had a grown person done such. ..
thing, would have been far too poIlte tn |
say anything. but felt no compunction in |
bullying the nervous, frightened baby for
her thoughtless offense. Spent with grief