Evening star., 1942-05-01
Honest Answers Advised to Calm ChIdrens War Fears
BY REX E. BUXTON, NJ. D.,
Director. Washington Institute Of
Mental Hygiene.

Oy hEA Z. DO N YIN, Nl. Ds,
Director. Washington Institute Of
Mental Hygiene.
This is the first in a series OF
four articles ,Uritten tor publicd-
ton during Child Health Week by
the psychiatrist-director of the
Community Chest-supported in
stttute ,Dhich provides scientific
mental hygiene services for chill
dren and adults.
American people in Government
have rightly recognized that one of
our greatest concerns in wartime
must be the preservation of one Of
our Nations greatest assets-namely,
our children. A great deal of in
terest and activity has centered
around the maintenance of good
standards of health and education
and the preservation of the mental
health of children in times which
are indeed taxing.
A great deal has already been
done in planning for the protection
of our children in the event of acute
disaster such as might be brought
on by a heavy bombing attack on
Washington.
But perhaps we have not recog-
nized enough the serious effects
which can come about from the dis
ruptions in children,s lives by pro-
found changes in the status of the
u,I,i inI 1vvyox
most important center of security
and activity for children. We can
hardly underestimate the serious
effects on children of sudden
changes in the home brought about
by fathers going to war. by mothers
being suddenly withdrawn because
of defense activities, or by extreme
changes brought about by the move
ment of families, or changes in
housing conditions.
To Discuss Solutions.
This series of articles will discuss
what is being done or can be done
for the preservation of the security
and stability of children.
Before parents and educators can
hope to help children understand
and adjust to the changes in their
lives which a state of war brings
about, they must first help the chill
dren to understand what this war
means so far as they are concerned.
Most children do ask questions
about the war. In these times Of
war much information is available
to children. even before they are
able to read, by virtue of the radio.
Most parents have found that chill
dren are asking a great many ques-
tions, many of them very difficult
to answer.
Shortly after Pearl Harbor one
little boy of confronted his father
with the question, Why are we
| fighting. daddy?"
The father thought about it for
long time, thought about his un-
| derstanding of the war as a battle
to preserve our way of life, to pre-
serve the kind of freedom that we
know, but then rightly decided that
those were things which would have
very little meaning to 4-year-old
Finds Way to Explain.
However. he did remember that
the child in very belligerent mood
had had a fight earlier that day
with little boy who had tried TO
take his tricycle., and finally an
Swered his son that we were fighting
because the Japs were trying to take
away a part of our country, just as
he would fight when somebody tried
to take his tricycle. For the time
being Johnny seemed quite satisfied
with that.
Sometime later an Army officer
was visiting in the home and when
he left after dinner 4-year-old
Johnny asked If he were going out
to fight the Japs that evening. The
ofncer then explained that he was
only going TO get . package Of eiga-