The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-02-04
Toys and Psychology.

consulting expert for parents in
the matter of fitting the toy to the
child. The consulting expert was
not employed simply for the period
precious to the holiday season, in
order to encourage larger sale of
toys. He is a permanent feature of
the establishment, and has already
amazed and peeved the firms sales
men by spelling some of their big
gest sales.
BENJAMIN Levin is the name of the
novelty" His father is a noted New
York alienist. The young man has
made child psychology his life
study, and has had much experience
in child welfare work among the
New York settlement houses as we'll
as being assistant manager of the
George Junior Republic. He believes
he has opened a new profession in
which experts are sadly needed.
"The biggest thing l hope to ac-
complish," he says, is to induce pa
rents to select their children's toys
as intelligenly as they are beginning
to select their children's diet. We
all know that the child learns
through his play. Many systems of
education are founded on that knowl-
edge. Toys bear certain relation
to a child's development. ..
"Our American cnildren,' declares
this expert adviser to parents, "are
too nervous. Instead of giving them
exciting toys, they should have some
thing soothing. l induced one father
to have a sandpit installed for his
very nervous little girl. Sand is
soothing. Just dig your hand into
pan of sand and let it run slowly
through your fingers. Note how
soothing it is to you. 1t has the same
effect on a child which needs to get
its toes into the sand as we'll as its
hands.
children are destructive. 1t
seems to be the natural bent. Then
why give them mechanical toys that
only need winding up to make them
go? 1 invariably advise against such
toys. The child soon has them de-
stroyed in an effort to see what
makes them 60 Give children
something constructive. Give them
something to make. They will value
what they have built themselves and
at the same time they are overcom-
ing the destructive tendency. The
juvenile courts are busy with those
children whose tendency to destruc-
tiveness has never been curbed or
diverted"
Just about this time parents are
beginning to wall over the fate of
the expensive toys given to their
children last Christmas. Few OF
these toys survive the first month.
Most of them are broken or the child
is tired of them by the time New
Years day arrives.
Sunday stopped into the home of
an acquaintance where there are
three children. l had seen their toys
the day after Christmas. They were
many and expensive. I wondered
how the parents, who are in moder-
ate circumstances, could afford to
Luy them. Like other parents, they
were proud of the expensiveness and
quantity and felt that nothing is
too good for our children"
But on Sunday l discovered a to-
tai indifference toward their new pos
sessions, by the children. They had
worked them all out and "shown
them off to their friends. and the
novelty was gone. The small boy
was discontentedly kicking at the
electric railroad train. The small
girl was humming to herself while
she cut paper dolls out of a maga-
zine. The older son was having more
fun with a cheap magnet on string,
that picked up pins and needles from
the carpet (he'd found it in. his
mothers sewing machine drawer)
than in the complicated moving pic
ture machine his rich uncle had pre-
sented to him.
"The American middle class"
says Benjamin Levin, seems to be
densely ignorant about the sort of
playthings fitted to their children.
They seem to think that if thing
is costly it must be just the thing.
am afraid that parents too often
Select for the child what pleases the
parent"
But don't think he will advise you
according to the age Of your young
ster.
81 must see and talk with the
child" he says.-E. K. Wooley.