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This book has been written as a supplement to “Wholesome Childhood” which was published by these authors in . It represents an endeavor to present concrete and helpful suggestions to mothers and fathers who are confronted by the various problems arising in the home situation.
After discussing the general nature of this situation in a chapter called “What is Childhood?”, they strive to catalogue certain reactions of importance in the process of mental growth, and comment upon the best means to accomplish desired results. The encouragement of curiosity which is, in the child, a hunger and thirst of the mind, develops into intellectual contact. Although the authors do not mention the following implications, it would seem that intellectual contacts are the result of the actions of inner cravings which come to the surface in the form of “intellection.” The curiosity of the child may be very troublesome to older people as through it the child may become mischievous, and annoying as well through his persistent interrogations. Nevertheless, when curiosity wanes or disappears the learning process comes to an end, and if further forced upon the child yields little practical and no permanent good.
Another important element in the rearing of children is the early establishment of the feeling of security and confidence in the parents. “Nothing baffles him more or undermines his confidence more than when those to whom he looks with assurance for truth-telling deal falsely with him … when example and teaching are radically and forcefully different, the child is pushed into moral confusion and it is a happy accident when he brings himself out of the turmoil unscarred.”
A third variety of growth and emotional development is through esthetic channels, in a thorough appreciation of beauty. Art in several forms is valuable and enriching to character, as well as a contributor to the satisfactions of life and living. Even though the ordinary child is not capable of responding to the complex