Milford chronicle., 1942-08-21
Vow EI06RF 10 IN.
"The Chiid's First School is the
y Family-FRoEBEL
Issued by the National KinderEartsn
Association. West 4Oth Street,
New York City
WHAT WAS THE MATTER?
EMMA GARY WALLACE

Robert had been an only chilli
for nearly four years. Then his new
brother Tony arrived and took thu
center of the stage. @ - q
At first relatives and sometimes
occasional callers teased R0bef
about having his nose put out oi
joint" because so much attention
was being given to the baby. ban
Robert was manifestlyi troubled
young children are often jeaf
ous," Mother and Daddy had some
times remarked, "but he'll soon gel
over that and love his little brother
as much as the rest of us do. ~ :!
Occasionally, they made a special
effort to pet and make much oi
Robert, for they did not want him
to feel pushed aside or neglected
AS time went on. he became inter-
ested in Baby Tony, often playing
with him and being amused by his
cute little ways. 81" a. -.
When the time came for Robert
to go to school, he seemed to have
no difficulty in getting along with
the other children, but for some
reason or other, he was listless and
inclined to day dream. m >
One of his teachers reported to
his mother that Robert did not ap-
pear to be enthusiastic about any
thing, nor to be able to concentrate.
She suggested that it, might be well
to have the child checked over
physically by a competent physi7
clan.
The young mother was distressed,
and after consulting with Roberts
father, she took the child to the
family phYsieia ian n,ss : ysssss.,
l } The doctor could find nothing
iihysfeaiiy wEefie and thoag Ut It
might be that something was disc
furbiT5g the fchild s ,sensesDf security
1perhaps With regard. toshis home
fslationsfApss He Ssuggested that
Hpbertk be, studied by a. specialist in
Child psychiatry. s.Y So ...ss
This observer was not long in
finding out that Robert was still
suffering from the submerged fear
that his mother and father did lot
love him as much as they did little
Tony, who was now two years old.
Robert had been sent to sum-
mer camp the season before, SO that
he might abe out in the open, but
seemingly he had not been behe-
flied. The reason was that he had
taken his trouble with him. He
was naturally quiet and reserved
and so lived, for the most part, in
a world of his own making.
From this point on, Roberts par
ents definitely changed their tao!
tics4 Very soon the child was sleep!
Ing better, taking more, interest I'M
his meals, and was decidedly hap-I
pier ia his school associations. His
teacher reported that he was max,
ing. much better progress in school
and was plainly enjoying it.
We often. are reminded that thel
older child may be Jealous when.
thelnew baby first larTives' The con-
ditionl is usually treated as only Of
passing Significance and characteri
1t is thought that shortly the older
child will become accustomed to-
the. new member of the family and
make the best of the situation. !;
But this attitude Is entirely,
wrong. The older child !, shoulds
from the first, not be- Obliged to-
endure but be helped to;enj1Y the
little stranger, 1t should be his
Daby-needing his love and care.
Then, he will be glad to share'with
lim. 1t will please him that his
mother and father are Baby's mo-
her and father too. Instead of suf-
'ering feeling. Of loss and inse-
,urity, he will gain a delightful
Jense of Importance and RESPONSE
,ility.