Milford chronicle., 1940-02-16
HOMIE EDUCATION
"7he Child'S First School is fhe
Famiiy"-FROEBEL
Issued By the National kindergarten
Association. West 40th street,
New YORK City
OOO
NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK
EDITH BRANDS

ntAAh hAAANDAo
When my little girl. Louisa. was
four years old. she began to be
afraid TO be left alone in a dark
room. and getting her to sleep be-
came a real problem. tried a dozen
way Of meeting the situation. such
as sitting by her until she went to
sleep, rea5suriug her as to the dark
being friendly. Talking did no good,
and of course / could not continue to
sit beside her and wait for her to go
to sleep.
Very early, Louisa had shown her
self to be a lover of beauty. Like
most children she loved to sit in
| front of the wood fire and watch its
blaze. She loved color. Her Feac-
ton toward the color, purple, was
something in the nature Of eCstacy.
I have heard her exclaim when she
saw bed Of flowers, "Oh, purple.
purple, puFple!"
One day 1t dawned upon me that If
could connect her love of color
with ideas about finding beauty in
the dark, it might solve my problem
which had become really serious. |
cast about for a practical way of do
ing this.
One night, when she was ready for
bed. lit a candle ON the mantel aud
told her il was to be her goodnight
light. We sat i'm front of the hearth.
for the last few moments of a story,
then told her to look closely at the
candle for moment. II was small
candle, SO the light was not too
bright for her eyes.
What do you see?' I asked her.
Il see a light. A very little light"
Now, shut your eyes. What do
you see?''
Il see a light A very little light.
The candle light didn't go away
when you shut your eyes"
mo. It's still there"
We experimental with the candle
light for a few minutes. as l knew
that looking steadily at the small
flames would have a tendency to
make her sleepy. Before we left the
room l placed the candle where she
could see it through her bedroom
doorway. Then we crossed the hall.
and she slipped at once into her lit
tie bed. I told her to look steadily at
the candle which she did for a mo-
ment or two, then she lay down aud
began to watch her "Own little can
die" as she called Il then and later.
sat quietly for a few moments,
and When I stopped above he's pill
low. / found her fast asleep. After
that she called IL. Making my own
light" and we had no further tTOu-
bic about leaving her in the dark.
She really wash /. she thought. In
the dark.
bought an attractive candlestick
and some tiny candles for her use.
These were always kept on the tall
chiffOnier in her room. | saw to IL
that she gazed hard at the candle
for a moment or two. each night al
ter climbing into bed. then | blew II
out and came away, The little flame.
that persistence of vision showed
her. did the rest.
One might use a small electric
light bulb, instead of candle. for a
child who does not go to sleep easily.
being very careful that the light is
not too bright He should be allowed
to look at II steadily and make his
own pretty light" thus connecting
his ideas of the beauty Of light with
be had not before discOv-
cred in darkness.
It's very important that the mo-
ther should indulge in no emotions
over such childish problems. That is
exactly what they are, problems. to
be solved IN the best way possible.
An impersonal attitude toward them
coupled with study of the child's diff
ficulty will usually reveal the sOlu-
ton.