The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-04-01
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GIVING GIANT VIRTUES FAILS
 TO DWARF EVILS.

"We have always been so care- ful what we told Davy," said his mother, "and when we began to tell him simple stories, changed them so there wouldn't be one thing he could brood about. Yet now he is putting in things to scare himself. What do you do about THAT?"
 Somebody must have slipped up," opined. Just how does he make up stories to scare himself? And how old is he?"
 "Davey is four now, but he's been crazy for stories for over a year. One story he liked best was about Jack and the Bean Stalk. That sounds foolish l know, to be telling q baby. But we made 1t 50 simple and the giant such an old dear of a fellow, instead of a fec fle-fo-fum Englishman-e that Davy wanted to hear 1t over and over again.
 Now what do you think he said the other day? Mama do giants eat little boys?' and he keeps ask ing 1t just when I've put him to bed. I'm quite sure no one has told him any stories but ourselves, and as he plays alone most of the time no one else could have put the idea into his head"
 Fears Seem Every Present.
 Its hard to tell about certain fears," I explained. They seem to be there all ready to poy up at nothing seemingly. What may have happened in your boys case is the growth of an idea. Adding things up in his own mind that would appear unrelated to you.
 "It is well known too that thnigs will crop out months or years later yet seeming to leave no trace at the time. Water phobia can be like that, or certain sound pho- bias. Or fear of darkness or being shut in.
 "Something happens that might we'll frighten the child but to all appearance leaves no mark at all. He seems to forget 1t as soon as 1t happens. Then one fine day, some times much later, he suddenly de- yelops terror or systerics over the prospect of a like event. Or even without it.
 How It Starts.
 "Of course telling simple stor- 1 ies would not be related to such shock, even deferred shock, but in all emotional fear Imagination plays, big part. So you could look at it this way; suppose some one told Davy that d giant was a man as big as a mountain.
 Perhaps one day in a special flight you explained that this fel- low ate whole trees for his lunch and thought nothing of using wash tub for d cup. The very idea of enormity might have wor- ried Davy a bit. He could listen all day to stories about little fair ies that dwell in rose buds, but size is to him quite another thing. think youngsters take to giants better when they are d little older.
 Substitute New Characters.
 From there on it wouldn't be hard for Davy to invent more trimmings when he began to cony centrate. What you can do is to deftly make up story or two about how this big fellow just loved little boys and would sing to them and give them presents and so on. Then stop the giant business all together for good and all. The idea is to give him a new thought. No use in him hav- ing night terrors.
 While he is 50 little, especial ly as he is sensitive and appre- hensive anyway. keep his stories very simple. After a while he won't take them so seriously.
 Avoid extremes. A giant IS an extreme. Stories of little animals, toys, children and so on. Even the Moon Man can frighten a certain type of child. That old boy can wait too"
 Copyright 1895, NEA Service, Inc.