Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-15

reels any discomfort there it's the
sroWn-ups who stray in,
NOW, you cannot prevent a baby
from learning things all the time.
Whatever you do with him. It's the
learning age. But in baby garden
baby is helped to learn certain
necessary and valuable things.
Thus, they are taught to help them
serves, as far as possible; to feed
themselves; as soon as they are old
enough, to dress themselves, and
even. at very early stage, to pick
up their toys after they have finished
play. They are taught to be con-
slderate and unselfish with each
other and not eternally to be insist
ing on the, importance of mine"
They are taught to love animals
and to be kind to them. And they
learn familiarity with plants and
flowers, and something of how these
grow. And whatever natural impulse
they may have to make" things is
as far as possible encouraged
whether with blocks or clay or pen
ell. And even the tiniest ones learn
to run and jump and climb.
A baby who is we'll and interested
and who isn't slapped and .scolded
doesn't whine or cry. So these are
happy babies.
Start Your Own Baby Garden
A mother might admit that all
these conditions were desirable and
yet feel that the whole question was
settled by the fact that no baby gar
den fiourished within reach of her
own family.
But it is perfectly easy, IL not for
one mother, then for half a dozen
nt tarI, INn al a. - - 4. .-s~
own baby garden. 1t will be i'm
mensely Interesting to work out the
| details of 1t themselves. And they
will learn a great deal while they
are doing it.
In any case. don't dismiss this
| idea as mere fad or "frill" Did
you know that it is a great deal
! more important to provide the right
/ conditions for children who are foe
young to go to school than for the
| older ones? Did you know that the
time between nursing and school age
is really the critical period of his
| life? That If you ever are going 10
take pains" with his health and
education, you ought to do it then
even though he hasn't reached the
reading, writing and arithmetic
stage?
These years make UP the most
impressionable period in the life OF
human being. In what way are
you going to choose to have your
particular child moulded and
| trained?
It's probably true that a mother
who can give her baby all he needs
at home doesn't need to send him
to q baby garden. But how many
| can?
The mother who employs a nurse
| or that underlined and totally un-
equipped creature called nurse.
| maid, for her babies, surely isn't
doing much for them. A nurse car
keep children clean and take them
] on more or less melancholy little
walks outdoors. but only a super
nurse is fit to be entrusted with all
the questions of their health, happi-
ness and general training.
The, mother who cannot afford to
hire any relief for herself, and who
has to combine baby tending with
cooking, dishwashing, sweeping, sew
cooking, dishwashing, sweeping,
sewing and the personal demands
made by her husband and older chill
dren, may love her baby very much
it is true. She may cuddle him pas
sionately whenever she has time
and she may love to feel him cling
ing to her skirts and delight in the
sound of his questioning. trustfui
little voice.
But isn't he missing great many
things that a baby garden could do
| for him?
There is a mother now and then
who combines in herself all the ele-
ments of the best baby garden, who
in herself is arching tree and
streaming sunshine and running
brook and blooming rose. If moth
ers of this bountiful sort would only
start and manage baby gardens for
the help OF all the other mothers of
the world!