The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1922-02-08
PARENT EDUCATION
Of The CHILDREN
by Katherine Beebe.)

During the many days and hours
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 Wis
itors' feet, on the arms and rockers
of chairs and entirely in the vicinity
of the grown people who were goingI
through the vacuous form of confer
ence or conversation. The usual
apologies were always forthcoming
"The weather is so bad" 1.-THE house
is so SMALL" "The children are sol
full of life!" ''They love so to be with
mother!" and so on
Now, an A B C application of or
binary sense would make it plain to
that mother that consideration for
her guest, for her own comfort, for
her children's good, demands some
other play place, and a little ingenu-
ity would make one possible. Play is
so vital a part of a child's life that a
place for it, both indoors and out, is a
necessity, not a luxury.
One mother whom it is my privi-
lege to know, following the modern
custom of opening windows at night,
has several little beds in a row in one
room-the smaller one, a larger one
being reserved for the necessary bu-
reaus, 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
times is giving one group of little
folks invaluable lessons in neatness,
order, consideration and h~elpfulness.
But the ideal play place is the at
tic, and there is often one or some
sort. Such a space kept reasonably
clean, and having it's windows pro
tected, would solve many a house.
hold problem. The fact that the at
tic 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 with coats, sweat
ers, caps and even mittens on, the
children should not be told to "run
up and play" at such times as rain
or cold make outdoor sport impossi-
bic. There being no occasion for
putting on the despised and clumsy
rubbers is also an advantage. Wise
parents would see to it that such an
attic contained an old mattress for
jumping on" a ladder, a clothesline
some odds and ends of discarded fur
nlture, wooden boxes, a trestle or
two, boards, hammers and nails, an
old tarpaulen or cloth for tent-mak-
ing 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. l suppose mothers con-
slider the weather "too damp" Blu,
when L remember a neighbor's
healthy brood of children, who
equipped with rubber boots, coats
and caps played out of doors ever
r day In the year, except when tbs
Thermometer was 20 below and a wrnt
was blowing, I am of the opinion thai
| a few hours in the damp fresh an
/, would be much less rraught with dan
gerous possibilities than whole day.
In f~urnace-heated rooms.