http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/2204770

The development of the child

"The child's early stages are merely transitional; the time of preparation in which he changes from the microscopic mass of protoplasm, which is his form after conception, to the fully developed adult who constitutes the highest product of terrestrial evolution, is merely a phase of development. In these stages the young organism is played upon by an infinite number of influences that mould his body and mind according to their nature and kind. If the child is to be developed in the finest way, every possible influence that acts upon him should be controlled to serve the ends of development. There is no doubt that many of the ideas and methods governing the treatment of children, what one is bound to provide for them, as well as what one may expect from them, are sadly deficient. The blame for this is to be laid not so much upon carelessness and indifference in parents and guardians (although these peculiarities exist), as upon a wrong conception of the problem.There is not enough of conviction in the minds of parents and guardians that the responsibility of their children's acts, either good or bad, rests upon their older shoulders, that the final outcome of these children's lives depends almost entirely upon the influences, the nutrition, the environment which the authority of the parents and guardians provide. The elements that are to be affected, being in an almost fluid state so far as susceptibility to change is concerned, require an unceasing care and attention. To break in upon the rule for a single week or day or hour defaces the beauty of the finished product, and leaves an opening for divergences from the best growth, that can later on be remedied, if at all, with difficulty. The bringing up of a child thus means a series of lessons in self-restraint, in watchfulness, in adherence to an ideal, for the parent even more than for the child. The child will fashion himself after the patterns that he sees; he does not grow according to some hard and fast rule that has been implanted in him before he is born"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Open All Close All