Evening star., 1951-09-21

part Of the time. She expects
answers to her questions and re-
sponses when she tells a child
what to do. If nothing happens,
she may consider him naughty,
stubborn or absent-minded and
dreamy. Which one she thinks,
depends more on her temperament
than on his!"
1t may be that his shell Of ac-
quired deafness prevents his hear
ing, the author points out. Or
it may be that he didn't under
stand because the key words were
buried in lots of others. Or he
may have heard vaguely but
knew there was time enough.
"She didn't yell yet"
mo, no, Lucy, don't take that"
says Mother. Here, you may have
this instead. See, roll it this way.
Oh, wait minute It'll I tie your
shoe. Come here, dear. That's
right. Now stand still. Fine. No,
stand still minute. - And so
/ it goes, Mrs. Bacmeister reminds.
How would any of us like three or
four comments or Interruptions
OF our activity per minute, she
asks.
If you let blessed silences" de-
velop, and speak simply and clear
ly when you do speak, your child
will learn to listen, the author
explains. Words then will be in
teresting and meaningful to him.
II he has lost the habit of lis
tening already, you'll have to be
sure you have his attention before
you talk to him. Then repetition
can be avoided. Don't hesitate to
use gestures or facial expressions
to supplement or even replace
words when you speak to him. the
author says. And when you have
finished, don't start explaining or
repeating. Stop and wait. It takes
time for your message to go
through and for him to reorganize
. his responses. Allow more time
than seems necessary before you
speak again, and nine times out
OF ten you won't have to.
How simply you must speak and
how slow the response depends on
the age and temperament of your
child. But remember that, rapid
ly as vocabularies and mental
powers grow, the ability to hold
IN mind and carry out three very
simple commands. repeated once,
is 5-year-old's test on the Stan
Iford-Binet intelligence scale. And
even then, that means that most
o-year-oldS can do it, but it is
still too difficult for a good many.
One OF the most useful things
l ever learned about the man
agement of young children was
forced upon me by a case of laryn-
gifts" Mrs. Bacmeister tells. Il
was teaching nursery school at the
time and it was quite impossible
to secure a substitute. I WON
oered whether we could get along
with pantomime and only a few
words"
But to my surprise things went
forward with unusual calmness
and serenity. In the few DAYS I
was almost Speechless saw very
clearly that in spite of my train
ing I had been talking far too
much. Most Of us are guilty of
this, am afraid, with our chill
dren OF 2 to as they play around
the house"
A smile, nod, a shake of the
head, beckon. pat. a wave, and
dozens of other little gestures
make adults clear to the child at
once. as do facial expressions.
why should mother say to q
year-old Johnny, We have to 90
INTO the house now. Johnny. so
Mother can cook your dinner.
You're going to be hungry pretty
soon, you know, and Johnny wants
a good dinner, doesn't hep" Mrs.
Bacmeister asks. why make
him undertake the translation Of
all that when she could just smile
and hold out her hand to him?
That he would understand at
once.
lAll in the Family. by Rhoda W Mae.
neiSterm Appleton-Century-C -Crofts New
Yofk, sop