Evening star., 1924-04-04
CHILp's third birthday is an

q ond of babyhood. A child
three years old should be able to TAX
food without spilling it, and express
hirnsslf freely and more or less cor
rectly. Two to three years old is the
ti1no when a child passes through an
initiative period, and.when he is quick
10 reproduce and often exaggerate
peculiarities of speech or mannerisms
- in his elders.
It is about the third birthday, also,
when child's character begins to as
sert itself. Amusements that appeal
to a child of this age usually include
brick building in all its forms, manip-
ulation of colored cardboard shapes,
simple block puzzles, wooden letters
and easy games.
Some children by the time they are
three years old are very observant
and can describe places and happen
ings quite graphically; others can
even invent wonderful happenings;
while r third type, more stolid IN
disposition, will be extremely sparlng
in words and rather unfriendly.
1t is an exceptional thIee-year-o
child who has any real idea OF time,
but most children can count TO ten
or twenty, know all the chief colors.
possibly the days of the week, and
probably their own names and ad-
dresses by the time they reach this
age.
old child should sleep soundly. have
firm, strong limbs. bright eyes, clear
skin, sound teeth ana plenty OF
"One would think that the rule
of an hours rest during the day
would be well for any child under
five years of age" said one mother.
"hut the more experience I have with
children, the more realize that we
can't lay down hard and inflexible
rules. For my little boy the daytime
sleep is very unsuitable. Not only
does he wake up thoroughly cross, so
that he is crying and upset for at
I-;Ist an hour afterward, but he also
lies awake for a couple of hours at
bedtime, repeating everything he
knows or has heard during the day.
Now that his daytime sleep has been
stopped, he is better natured during
the day and is fast asleep as soon
as his head touches the pillow at
night, and he goes through twelve
hour night without waking.
''On the other hand. my neighbor
has little girl who has a good
hours rest during the morning and
wakes up ready to enjoy her dinner
and afternoon walk, and is quite
bedtime comes"
These experiences prove that gen.
eral health rule should always be
made to suit the child, not make
4 child conform to the rule.
When Children VIII Not Eat.
Children, like adults, vary much in
regard to the amount of food they
If a child is of normal weight for his
height, has firm limbs, sleeps well
and is full of energy and good spirits,
he is apparently eating we'll, although
the quantity of food taken may be
small. Children with big appetites
often eat far more food than they
can properly digest. and are conse-
uuently not nearly as healthy as the
small eater who assimilates every
ounce of food taken.
On the other hand, children who
seem to be genuinely unable to eat
should be carefully considered. Lack
OF fresh air is often the cause OF
chronic lack of appetite. Childre Il
who are allowed to go outdoors very
little in winter time, and while in
doors remain in badly ventilated and
overheated rooms, often are unable
to eat well. Another type of child
cannot eat because he is overtired
While the ideal rule for a normal
child is three good meals q day and
nothing in between, at the same time
there are some children who will not
eat more than a very small quantity
of food at any one meal. If suclf a
child is under weight and lacking in
vitality, it would be well to give
nourishment little at a time, but
often. until the child is restored to
normal health again. The mother of
q child who is consistent small
cater should make a study of food
values. in order to plan out meals
that will supply the maximum of
nouriShment with the minimum of
bulk.
self-Conhdence.
Is your child shy when presented to
guests? Some mothers are annoyed
because their children behave so
badly when spoken to by people they
do not know. Many children remain
absolutely silent on occasions when
their parents long for them to Gre
ate favorable impression, owing to
a dread of being laughed at or mis-
understood. Lack of sympathy on
the part of adults often tends to
check the spontaneous enthusiasm of
q child Self-expression, which is so
important, II checked in childhood
may become increasingly difficult as
the child grows up.
one mother, whose children were al
ways very shy and backward in the
presence of visitors. solved the problem
by encouraging her children to make
ntue speeches in a sufficiently prof.
Gent manner. Sunday, at dinner time,
was the usual day when this game, for
such II soon became. was played. One
or the children proposed a toast, while
another spoke for two or three minutes
on some given subject that was simple
ana well within his or her scope of
observation. The household pets, signs
OF spring time, or the wireless concert
Formed some Of the subjects. The en-
oeavor to be interesting DEVELOPED. and