ldom produces nervous exhaustion. It is quite otherwise when the
child is dependent to a too great extent upon the participation of
adults. It is almost impossible for the mother and nurse not to take
the leading part in the exchange of ideas, and no matter what may be
their good intentions, the pace set is apt to be too great.
Environment, without the intrusion of the adult mind, is best able to
adjust the necessary stimulus and produce development without
exhaustion. Play with grown-up persons, the reading aloud of story
books, the showing of pictures, and so forth, undoubtedly have their
own importance, but they should be confined within strict limits and
to a definite hour in the daily routine. There is sometimes too great
a tendency for parents to make playthings of their little children.
Save at stated times, they must curb their desire to join in their
games, to gather them in their arms, to hold them on their knee, while
they stimulate their minds by a constant succession of new
impressions. With an only child, whose existence is the single
preoccupation of the nurse and mother, and, often enough, of the
father as well, it is difficult to avoid this fault. Yet, if wisdom is
not learnt, the damage to the child may be distressingly serious. He
rapidly grows incapable of supporting life without this excessive
stimulation. Without the constant society and attention of a grown
person, he feels himself lost. He cannot be left alone, and yet cannot
enjoy the society he craves. He grows more and more restless,
dominating the whole situation more and more, constantly plucking at
his nurse's skirts, perversely refusing every new sensation that is
offered him to still his restlessness for a moment. The result of all
this stimulation is mental irritability and exhaustion, which in turn
is often the direct cause of refusal of food, dyspepsia, wakefulness,
and excessive crying.

The devices by which children will attract to themselves the
attention of their elders, and which, if successful, are repeated with
an almost insane persistence, take on the most varied forms. Sometimes
the child persistently makes use of an expression, or asks questions,
which produce a pleasant stir of shocked surprise and renewed reproofs
and expostulations. One little boy shouted the word "stomachs" with
unwearied persistence for many weeks together. A little girl dismayed
her parents and continued in spite of all they could do to prevent her
to