The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-09-14
IMAGINATION
IN CHILDREN
Strange Fantasies Which are
Common to Little Folk.
WAY TO CORRECT THEM
Necessity of CompanionShip
for the Young.
WAY TO CORRECT THEM

|
parent for US; is some such pavder could
show US what is in the minds around
Us, we would often be startled at the diff
ference from our own; and II nothing, l
! suppose, do minds differ mVre than in
their extent or use Of imaginative power
Such people find in glowing images OF
grotesQue fancies a constant source Of
delight, in which they can lose conscious
ness of their prosaic surroundings; 10
others, even to read these things is wear
mess, or even a positive pain. Charlotte
Bronte and her sisters are examples of
the joy and power that Imagination can
open out to US, with little 10 feed it,.
and in the narrowest circumstances; IN
able TO enjoy poetry OF any work OF i'm
agination.
In order 10 have broader sympathies
and more intelligence, in dealing with
people. we need TO bear in mind that
there are all varieties and degrees Of diff
ference in mental constitution; that GER
tain ideas are not impossible TO other peo-
pie because they are so 10 Us individually.
Frances Havergsl. the hymn-writer. de-
soribes a curious sort Of musical imsgin-
]
/ seemed TO hear long SUGGESTIONS Of chords
1 immensely fuller and richer than any
actual ones 10 which she had ever listen
/ ed. and making extraordinary combina-
tons, yet always resolving themselves in
! to perfect hSrmonies. To many persons
this would be quite unlntelligible.
Some people have curious fancies about
numbers. always seeing them arranged
/ in certain angular or curved patterns,
/ with ciphers taller or shorter than the
/ rest Members OF the same family often
differ entirely about such things. From
+ childhood l have had color fancy
associated with personal names; two 9TH
er members Of the family have it also,
although they see the names in entirely
different colors from mine; but 10 a third
sister. when we speak Of It. It seems as
II We were talking Greek. These fancies,
unlike other imagings. are permanent
and do not come and go at will. but they
serve to show how varied is our inner
world from that of our neighbor
1t is generally very hard for grown
people to enter into childs maginary
world. William Cantons w. Y. Her
Book and Invisible Playmate have
shown US some weird glimpses of it; and
Edward Graham's Dream Days and
Golden Days and Golden Age have
awakened some persons 10 the chiIds
view of them as stupid. duh grown peo-
pie who never are bandits or pirates
or see bears in the pastures and wild
Indians along the roadside. Probably the
father and mother Of little Robert Louis
Stevenson or of Pierre Lott had no remote
idea Of the child-fancies which have been
so charmingly told 10 the world: for par
ents and children are often 50 differently
constituted. owing to the very mixed and
varied character Of heredity. that it may
be harder for them TO understand each
other than for those not blood relations.
Among the several hundred children
with whose education or up-bringing I
have ben much concerned, have observ-
ed all sorts and degrees of imagination.
or the lack Of it. but I have hardly ever
seen it intelligently dealt with The kin
dergarten has been said to train the i'm
agination; I do not claim this for IT, for
I do not believe that the imagination can
be trained in two years OF a child s life.
nor do l think we yet understand well
how TO train IT, But the kindergarten
does recognize imagination as factor
in the chnds life. which schools have
seldom done; does try TO supply whole
some instead of haphazard material for
it, and bring the children up against
facts as well as fancies.
one of the commonest forms OF child
ish imagination is to take the personality
of another person or Of an animal one
little boy has done this during almost his
whole life (of eight years. He has con-
stsntly changed from one 10 another
hut the two favorites for at least two
years continuously were q quite imagin-
airy little dog named Toodles. and a real
cabman who often came 70 the house.
Professor Royce tells OF one OF his chill
dren that during his third year he hardly
ever seemed 10 be himself. saying. Don't
call me H; I'm a hyena or "a
horse car" as Il might be- Another child
know viii say in the morning when
getting up. I'm a cat. don't you see
my kittens-they re all running out Chcld-
ing aside the bed clothes, don't YOU see
There's Miggie and Petite etc. Two
little children have an imaginary dwell
irC place called Henka. where they con-
stantly make believe 70 so. and often
ask 10 have pictures drawn u f. seeming
70 expect that other people viii Under
stand how It looks a very natter-of-
fact friend OF mine. who has no pleasure
IL Imagination and 10 sense o. h1mor.
is constantly distressed BY her little
boys descriptions Of animals he has seen.
which she knows are not anywhere about
There may be q certain amount q vanity
and love q surprising people in this but
have 10 doubt that the boy sees them
as people see ghosts in a churchyard OF
as the people il " ". Jacob story saw
he tiger Imaginary animals as seen BY
q child have given many u IS amuss-
nent IN The book edited By Andrew Long.
In animal Land and thoagh This fancy
Is rare 1 have known another child %
have T. and draw the pictures Another
Hitle glrl VIII show ne g fairy's house
ard ten ne that she plays With fairies
nd what they say - her
one OF the most busi-ess-iise and prac-
seal women ! know said 70 ne o7a day.
As q child I often puzzied uhat
PEOPLE meant. for the thinEs sem
q real 70 them were not So G. M ard
ny real world was apparently uon-exis-
tent for them often got uto trouble
sor doing what Il seemed 70 re the v4na