Childhood: Mary Chadwick. The Psychological Problem of the Foster Child. The Child, May, 1925.

This brief examination of the problem of the foster child from the psychological point of view seeks to show how the absence of individual affection and demonstrations of tenderness may affect in several serious ways children brought up out of their own homes and in institutions. In the institution the personal element is thrust into the background, partly owing to the large numbers of children who have to be dealt with, and partly to the comparatively small circle of those who are responsible for their care; a factor of still greater importance is the total lack of appreciation of the necessity for affection for the mental health of the young child. During the past few years a great deal of attention has been accorded the question of institutional dietary. It has been recognized that too much monotony in food even of the most nourishing kinds will fail to produce the wished-for effect. But it is doubtful whether those in charge of the government of State or charitable institutions are yet fully awake to the fact that the monotonous routine of institutional life may create as dire results in those who are condemned to endure it for several years, when youth is naturally yearning for change and new experiences. It will inevitably stunt the intellectual development of the boys and girls who are brought up under its rule, and may cause the following deleterious effects. For instance, it is only too probable that a dull and monotonous existence will foster a too frequent recourse to the habit of phantasy-making in order to furnish the change and excitement necessary to make life endurable under such conditions, or as an alternative it may lead to