mer is to
strike with, and it is a matter of supreme indifference to him what is
struck. At this stage the child has no sense of values and he cannot
possibly know that one object may be hit with a hammer, while another
object, such as a mirror, may not. He must be taught this fact; at first it
is entirely beyond his experience.

But the child now has considerable capacity for knowing, hence the wise
parent can easily and quickly teach him to discriminate and even to be
careful to avoid injury to certain objects. No attempt should be made to
suppress this new-born power of this searcher after truth; this instinct is
the basis of invention and of scientific research; it must be properly
guided, but not subdued. Give him playthings which can be taken to pieces
and put together, dolls which can be dressed and undressed, horses which
can be harnessed and fastened to carts, blocks which can be built into
various forms, and above all, for a boy, a large, soft block of wood with
plenty of nails, tacks, and a hammer. The amount of energy he will expend
in filling the block with tacks or nails is astonishing. Other appropriate
ways of expressing his energy should also be provided. Give the child
something to do.

This rule ought to be rigidly observed: _Never cut straight across the
activity of a child, but always substitute some other act in place of the
one not desired_.

LESSON XII

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. How is the great instinct of curiosity at first manifested?

2. What three phases of consciousness are there? How do these develop?

3. What is meant by a well-trained mind?

4. What explains the child's tendency to destroy things? How may this
tendency be best overcome?

5. What rule should the parent carefully follow with relation to the
child's activity?

6. What are some sensible activities that may be easily provided for
children?

7. Why is it worth while for parents to devote some time, or even money, to
providing for the natural activities of children to express themselves in
the right ways?

For further study, selections from "Elementary Psychology," by Phillips,
will be found helpful.

POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE TRAINING

_Train the Positive Side of the Child's Nature and the Negative Side Will
Need Little Attention_.

A negative method trains the child to be hard and critical, and to be
constantly looking for opposition to his wishes; it is the chief cause also
of slyness, ill-t