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Show sj SMALL CHILDREN OFTEN ABUSED. Cautioning mothers against attempting at-tempting to completely control the actions of their small children, a writer explains why ono should not try to "break the will" of a child under un-der four years of age. Now and then a mother whips a little ono to no gooa purpose or ten arousing a spirit of dislike in tho child. Pa-, Pa-, tience, accompanied by instructive wordB, will accomplish far more than the blow that brings resentment. "It has been discovered' says tho physiologist, "that the brain of a child under four is not sufficiently developed devel-oped to allow tho immature will power pow-er to govern it. In other words, the child under four is not responsible respon-sible for its own actions and any of-fort of-fort to form habits of mind is futile. It is fairly well known that tho component com-ponent parts of the human brain aro the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, oblon-gata, the cerebellum and tho cerebrum. cere-brum. Tho baby at birth Is best fitted fit-ted with the spinal cord and a part of the pyramid-shaped medulla oblongata, ob-longata, known as the pyramldenbalin, or 'pyramid path.' The spinal cord is the seat of many of our reflex or Involuntary but habitual actions. Nearly all the rest are controlled in tho medulla oblongata. The infant is not able to make conscious, volun-1 volun-1 ' ' '. tary movements because the 'pyramid path,' or the path of communication between ihe outer layer of the cerebrum cere-brum and the spinal cord, by moans of which movements they are' brought under the control of tho former, is not yet mature. Only such movements are voluntary as proceed from some definite point in the cerebrum. It Is true that tho nerve fibers which form this pyramid-path are already present in tho new-born Infant, but they are not yet capable of acting, because be-cause they have as yet developed no nerve sheaths. These sheathB arc for the nerve what Insulators are for the electric current. It is only by degrees oorres ponding to the growing development of the sheath of the pyramid pyr-amid path that the child develops the power to bring: its action under control con-trol of the cerebrum, or, as we are accustomed to express ourselves psychologically, psy-chologically, to subject them to the will. The nervo formation itself, uiuivuvm, js luijuouueu uy me stimulus stim-ulus of functioning. Tho nurseling has as yet no will power, and it is well known that the will power is still very weak in children of the succeeding suc-ceeding period of development This is duo to the fact that the path of communication between the cerebrum and the spinal cord requires years to be fully matured." |