Evening star., 1938-07-05
Supervised
Vacation
Is Best
Happy Child Grows
Much Faster Than
An Unhappy One.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

VACATION from school means a
full day somewhere else and
mothers have to plan ahead for this
occupation of long summer days. This
Is our outdoor season, the happiest of
all for children, and it is a pity not
to make every day of it count for the
growth of the children. I say growth
because summertime is their best
growing time, but If they are not kept
healthily occupied they are not going
to grow as they should Idleness
breeds unhappiness, and unhappy chill
dren do not grow as rapidly and with
the same quality as happy children.
1t is not hard to keep children
normally happy. All one has to do
is to keep them busy at things they
like to do for the greater part of the
time. I do not mean that they are To
do nothing all day but what they
choose to do. That is impossible But
the schedule ought to be based on
what the children most want to do,
apart from the regular home routine
One mother in neighborhood can
not be truly successful in making a
summer schedule for her children all
by herself. Her children play with
the neighbors' children; they plan
and work together; they enjoy things
together. No one child or one FAM
lily of children can ignore the neigh
borhood children and get anywhere
worth while in a vacation at home
The cooperation of the group is
needed.
If the mothers held meeting over
tea table; if they discussed the
children's needs and hopes and de-
cided on how they could manage 20
further those needs and hopes work.
ing together, the children might have
better chance to use this delightful
vacation span. Mothers who work
together in mothers clubs and in
parent = teacher associations know
how to go about this. Those who
have no such unit of cooperation
can surely arrange for this essential
one. The children ought to rise about
the same time, have about the same
AAOuAo AOA 4llCdlS dllO dUOuO CAlC O<Al1AC
hours for free time devoted to va
cation pursuits. This will correct the
situation that arises when one or two
children have to leave the group for
some home duty, or nap, or den-
lists engagement. A planned schedule
for the group makes things easier
for everybody concerned. It will re-
lieve mothers of many heavy bur-
den such as the one presented when
q protesting child cries, Everybody
else can go. I'm the only one that
has to stay out of the fun all the
time" "Everybody's doing it, is q
fine slogan when what everybody is
doing is what the mothers have agreed
upon their doing.
This is the time for volunteers for
the service of children. Retired teach
ers who enjoy supervising a play hour
or staging a pageant or fair; retired
policemen, those eminently fitted souls
who see through the backs Of their
heads and sense trouble before it gets
a start, are the perfection of play
ground supervisors. Young college
graduates betwixt school and life re-
sponsibilities and chock-full Of life
and energy and idealism, are precisely
the leaders needed for outings. And
mothers divided into committees are
the source Of leadership for all. There
is no need for wasting the two best
months of children's lives in idleness
Everybody must get busy, especially
the school children.