Evening star., 1938-06-24
Teach Child
To Anuse
Himself
Youngsters Should
Play for Several
Hours All Alone.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

InARLIN" was almost years old
and the idol of her mother S
heart, and Of fathers, too. Nothing
was too much to do for Darlin' II
it made her happy. Mother stopped
work and played with her: took her
hands out OF the dough" to take the
child up on her lap and tell her
Three Bears; walked hours in the
park to keep her happy until mother
legs ached and her feet burned
Darlin' must be made happy. But
Darlin' had not learned to keep her.
self happy, and there trouble lay.
One afternoon Mrs. Nee, president
Of the Ladies' Aid. dropped in to ask
Darlin's mother to serve on the Re-
freshment Committee for the straw
berry festival. She was making a day
Of 1t and had lots Of time. The
ladies. interested in their talk and
tea. forgot Darlin'. 1t was afer 4:30
when Mrs. Nee rose to leave, and q
quarter to when she did leave
Suddenly mother remembered Darlin'.
Where. o where, was Darlin'?
There was q sound in the kitchen
and mother looked in. What she saw
made her scream In anguish. Darlin'
was almost unacceptable under q
coating Of flour, chocolate, honey,
prunes, molasses and cake crumbs.
The two hours Of freedom she had
taken had been spent in clearing the
refrigerator and closet, sampling any
thing that looked good to eat, saking
out the boxes and emptying the cans
and bottles. 1t would take = whole
day to clear and clean the kitchen,
and goodness knows how long to wash
and tend Darlin'. Mother collapsed
in tears. 1t was father who straight
ened out that night and put both
his charges to bed.
Il never thought she was a bad
child" cried mother. Nor was she q
bad child. She had not been taught
how to amuse herself. She had not
been left to herself for an hour since
her birth. She had never had q
chance to investigate things first-
hand. this time she did what she
should have been helped to do dur
Ing the years that were past.
Children must be trained to useful
ness early. Begin when they can hold
the wash rag and let them do that
much to help with their bath. The
feeling that their hands report to
their minds, the feeling Of usefulness
Of knowing themselves approved and
needed. stimulates their intelligence
Trained in these little ways Of the
household, they learn what can be
done and what should be done against
what Is never done. That knowledge
Is not born with 4 child. He ac-
quires it, under training, in the first
three years Of his life, and his mother
Is his best teacher.
One of the earliest lessons . child
should have is that of knowing how
to amuse himself. He needs to learn
that he can be happy by himself. Set
aside . convenient time in the morn
ing. Lay = mat on the floor in q
space reserved for this. Give the child
= toy and have him stay on that
mat and play with it, alone, for five
minutes; then for 10; later for Is
Gradually increase the interest in the
toys by making them the sort he can
DC more with, and lengthen the time
30 that by ; years of age he and
she can keep busy, unaided by grown
people, for two hours on . stretch
This is one of the most useful idea,
= child can establish in his way OF
life.
Children grow through action
Their hands, first, then their whole
being in action, feed their mental
and physical growth. Idle hands find
mischief and add nothing to chill.
dren's growth.
Mr.. Patri has prepared . leafiet
entitled, Trouble with Number
Tables" in which he explains an
easy way to help children improve
in arithmetic. Send for it, ad-
dressing your request to Mr..
Angelo Patri, Child Psychology
Department Of this paper In
close . self-addressed. stamped
(3.cent) envelope.
(ceDVEisht, 1880