The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1939-08-03
ARE THERE
ANY QUESTIONS?"

<ASA
ANY QUESTIONS?"
This information service on
education is brought to you by
special arrangement with Tea
cheers College, Columbia Univer-
sity, New York City. Questions
on education may be submitted
through this neWSpaper.)
QUESTION: How can a par
ent help a child get over chill
dish fears?
! REPLY: There are many rea-
/ sons for children'S fears, some
of them very difficult to trace.
Sudden noises, association of
objects with some painful eX-
perience, a parents fear COM
municated. threats by parents,
stories of spooks by playmates,
a general feeling of emotional
insecurity. all NAV cause a child
to become fearful. Once a fear
has taken root it is often diff
cult to eliminate anc may cause
the child great suffering and
be a considerable handicap in
his general development.
Studies conducted at the
Child Development Institute at
Teachers College, Columbia I'm
iversity, indicate that one of
the best ways to deal with a
child'S fear is to help him mas
ter it through his own direct
experience. If he is afraid of
heights, Let him first try stand
ing on small elevations with a
friend Or parent at hand, and
then, as confidence is attained
let him try at higher and high
er levels. If he is afraid of a
dark closet, the closet might be
made part of a game in which,
with the mother close at hand,
the child goes in and out Of
the closet and gradually be-
comes accustomed to it. Sim
ilarly a fear of animals may be
remedied by gradually accus-
toming the child under pleasant
circumstances to the presence
of a cat or dog.
A calm example of a parent
often helps. If the child is
afraid of thunderstorms, a calm,
matter-of-f fact attitude by an
older person will guide the child
to a similar attitude. Laughing
at the child or trying to talk
him out of his fear are not eff
fective remedies.
In cases of deep seated emo
tional insecurity the remedy is
more difficult. Here the answer
lies in removing the feeling of
insecurity, showing the child
that he is loved and wanted,
building up confidence and a
feeling of security.
A frequent cause of children's
fears is a parents threatening
the child in order to keep dis
cipline. Threatening to call a
policeman. to lock the child
up in a dark room with the
bogy, to desert him, all can do
great harm to the emotional
stability of the child, and cause
him great hardship.
Parents often can prevent
fears from arising. If the child
is to be taken somewhere where
unusual noises or sights may
frighten him, an explanation
beforehand may help.
QUESTION: How many peo-
pie suffer from speech defects,
stammering, etc.? What is the
most common type of speech
difficulty?
REPLY: Estimates indicate
that some IL, 1000, 900 adults and
children or one out of every ten
of the population, suffer from
speech defects of some sort.
The most common trouble is
!! ~stammering. About IS per cent
of StammererS can be detected
before the age of 8. There is
a great need for increased cor
receive treatment in schools for
this difficulty, for although
some children outgrow it, others
do not, and it becomes a per
manent handicap through life.
QUESTION: I'm interested in
finding a magazine dealing with
the problems of vocational
guidance. Could you refer me
to one or two?
REPLY: There are a number
of magazines in the field, some
for vocational guidance coun-
selors and others for the gen.
eral public who may wish some
help in going about finding a