Varia

Vacation Notes in Child Psychology. P. a boy of 8 ¹/₂ years, S. a girl of 4 years. P. has a good deal of difficulty in adjusting to his father's authority. He admires his father and imitates him in various ways. One day he exhibited with pride a school picture of his father in a group of cadets. Later he was discovered hanging the picture back on the wall upside down and beating it with his fist. [Why are you doing that?] “Oh, I don't like my father. I get so angry at him.” Then followed a brief discussion as to Why children had such antagonism to their parents, with an attempt to help the child see that there were two sides to the problem. P. finished with “Well, then, don't you think that parents ought to take people nearer their own size, when they discipline?”

About this same time P. had told his mother that he was “not going to God bless” his father and mother any more at present. So every night at prayer time he carried out his resolve, “God blessing” all the other members of the family but leaving out his parents.

P. has on a number of earlier occasions manifested a sudden religious fervor and his utterances Have been suggestive that in the candid child mind, at least, religion is closely allied with other emotional experiences and contains a diversity of elements. He described to his aunt with considerable unction the purpose of giving his pennies in Sunday school for the poor little children who did not know God and prayed to idols. Then suddenly with animation: “Oh, Auntie, I want to pray to idols!”

Again he addressed his mother with fervor: “Mother, do you know whom I love best in all the world? God and Little Sister. She is so beautiful.”

S. is very much occupied with the subject of death but in a very light and airy way. It seems to be a not very serious matter with her but a very ready solution of difficulties and an object of interesting experiment. Her beloved cat had eaten a custard and a bird and fallen into great disfavor. S.'s mother found the child i