East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-02-11

During the many days and hour:
when children can not be told to run
out and play they must play in the
house. as a matter of necessity. Where
the abode is a spacious one there Is
OF course no problem, but the majority
of families live in small houses and,
alas. apartments.
Time and again it has been my lot
to spend visiting sessions in houses
| where to all intents and purposes the
only play places were under the visit
or's feet, on the arms and rockers of
chairs and entirely in the vicinity of
the grown people who were going
through the vacuous form of confer
ence or conversation. The usual apollo
| gies were always forthcoming The
| weather is so badl' The house is so
smaill'' THE children are so full of
life!" They love so to be with moth
eri" and SO On.
Now an A B C application Of or
binary sense would make it plain to
guest, for her own comfort, for her
children's good, demands ONE other
play place, and a little ingenuity would
make one possible. Play is so vital
a part of a child's life that a place for
1t, both indoors and out, is a necessity,
not a luxury.
One mother whom 1t is my privi-
lege to know, following the modern
custom of opening windows At night,
has several little beds irta row in one
room.-the smaller one, a larger one
being reserved for the necessary bur-
eaus, play space and ~playthings.
In another home the dining room is
the play place, and the very fact that
it must be put in order before meal
time is given one group of little folks
invaluable lessons in neatness, order.
consideration and helpfulness.
But the ideal play place is the attic,
and there often is one of some sort.
Such q space kept reasonably clean,
and having its windows protected,
would solve many q household prob
lem. The fact that the attic Is cold
is in its favor rather than otherwise.
Indeed while the children are playing
there the upper sash Of the windows
should be open. There is no reason
why the coats, sweaters, caps, and
even mittens on, the children should
not be told to run up and play" at
such times as rain or cold make out
door sport impossible. There being
no occasion for putting on the despis-
ed and clumsy rubbers is also an ad-
vantage. Wise parents would see to it
that such an attic contained an old
mattress for jumping on" n ladder,
n clothesline, some odds and ends OF
discarded furniture, wooden boxes, a
| trestle or two, boards, hammers and
nails, an old tarpaulin or other cloth
| for tent-making enterprises, together
| with such toys as the children choose
| to take with them.
/ have seen many porches which
would make fine play places on wet
| days and wondered why none of them
was in use. suppose mothers con-
| slider the weather "too damp" But
when | remember a neighbours healthy
| brood of children. who, equipped with
| rubber boots, coats and caps, played
out of doors every day in the year,
except when the thermometer was
twenty below and a wind blowing,
am of the opinion that q few hours in
damp fresh, air would be much less
fraught with dangerous possibilities
than whole days in furnace-heated
rooms.
81 hope the time may come
| when our country shall guarantee
to all an unfettered start and a
fair chance in the race of life"
Abraham Lincoln.
or the $500, 900 children of kinder
garten age in our country, only $780,
600 are receiving Kindergarten train
ing;-Only one child in nine is having
a fair education start in the race OF
life.