Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-08-26 | Page 8 | Character Aids Child at Start of Schol Life

Character Aids Child at Start Sc 0 Of Life By OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON The term preschool child has hasa a way of at repelling parents because of at its ibs technical sound No mother likes to think of her little or doughty Indian fighter of i 4 or 5 B Byears year years as any kind of a child except a a. little body with a decided personality personality personality person person- of its own Preschool child Indeed That fits him ln In into o a page of dried up statistics and h has s no place except pt in the patter of pay pay- 1 And I dont don't blame the mother who loses patience with such ticketing ticketing ticketing ticket ticket- ing and card indexing I never have liked the word and I 1 dont don't intend to begin now The time between babyhood and school age or to be bemore bemore more explicit between 2 and 6 6 should be designated by some term not connected with school at all The very sound Is misleading Parents think there must be some hidden bIdden idea of school preparation There Isn't of ot course any such meaning It is rather coincidence that makes 6 the school age and 6 a sort of milestone also in the childs child's life Ufe Or perhaps it is 13 b because be be- ca cause of the latter fact that 6 is the age when reason and control are well on on th way to to establishment that 6 wa was chosen by educators as th the right time to begin studies But although tile the preschool period pe pe- pe nod of childhood has no direct connection connection con con- with school there is 15 this in common The little litti child should be learning those things that will help him later Not his letters this Is Isas isas isas as you please but an ability to get along with other children to put his own wIlfulness aside to work under orders and apply himself Of course the break from home life Ufe to school life Ufe is less sudden the new systems make the transfer easy for the beginner but just the same if he is to be happy In his new world of duties he should have some foundation of character to build on The question now comes Then why do the specialists insist so on letting the preschool child have his way so 0 much 7 Why are parents parent ur urged ed to praise and keep hands off oU when the tha child is 11 busy working out his own ideas Because when a small child is beginning life he Ls Li somewhat like a plant The plant needs encouragement encouragement encourage encourage- ment meat in It its own way of growing if it is to grow at all aU And so 80 it is 18 with the child Otherwise it will wUl either die or be stunted First we must have strength Then we can afford to direct t or prune pruno that strength As All it hap happens nJ there has hili been too much emphasis on self development lately Many parents with the best intentions Intention in the world have misunderstood misunderstood misunderstood mis mis- understood the facts Even a little littlechild littlechild littlechild child can be trained and taught as aa ashe ashe he grows without hurting his hi personality personality per per- or courage It is careful work but it can be done Being ready fox for school concerns not tho alphabet but character If It the parent does the one the teacher will attend to tho the rest v Copyright 1936 1939 NEA Service Inc