Chapter I: =The First Three Years=

195. Owing to the delicate character of the thread of life during the earliest years, care for the body, a subject falling outside the limits of the present discussion, has precedence of everything else. The state of health, accordingly, implies great variations in the time available for profitable culture of the mind. But short as this time may be, it is extremely important, because of the great receptivity and susceptibility of the first period of life.

The lines of study suggested by these few remarks upon infancy have
been arduously pursued in recent years by Perez,[21] Preyer,[22]
Baldwin,[23] and others. The attempt has been made in these works
to show how the psychical and physical powers of the young child
actually unfold. In this way it has been possible to correct many
erroneous deductions from adult psychology, thus making elementary
training more successful.

[21] Perez, “The First Three Years of Childhood.”

[22] Preyer, (a) “Mental Development in the Child,” (b) “The Development of the Intellect,” (c) “The Senses and the Will.”

[23] Baldwin, (a) “Mental Development in the Child and the Race,” (b) “Social and Ethical Interpretations.”

196. Those moments when the child is fully awake and free from suffering should always be utilized by presenting, but not obtruding, something for sense-perception. Powerful impressions are to be avoided. The same caution applies to violent changes; very slight variations often suffice to revive waning attention. It is desirable to secure a certain completeness of eye- and ear-impressions, so that the senses may be equally at home everywhere within the fields of sight and sound.

197. As far as safety permits, the spontaneous activity of the child should have free play, primarily that he may get practice in the use of every limb, but also in order that by his own attempts his observations of objects and their changeableness may be enlarged.

198. Unpleasant, repellent impressions of persons, whoever they are, must be most carefully guarded against. No one can be allowed to treat a child as a plaything.

199. On the other hand, no one must allow himself to be ruled by a child, least of all when the child becomes importunate. Otherwise, wilfulness will be the inevitable consequence, a result almost unavoidable with sickly children, by reason of the attention demanded by their sufferings.

200. A child must always feel the superiority of adults, and often his own helplessness. The necessary obedience is founded on this feeling. With consistent treatment, persons constantly about the child will secure obedience more readily than others who are rarely present. Outbursts of passion must be given time to subside unless circumstances urgently require a different course.

201. On rare occasions there may be an exhibition of force inspiring enough fear to make a threat effective and to check an excess of animal spirits. For if government is to escape the extremely harmful necessity of severe disciplinary measures later on, it must become firmly established during the earliest years of childhood.

202. The language of children demands scrupulous attention from the beginning, in order to prevent the formation of incorrect and careless habits of speech, which at a later period it usually requires much trouble and loss of time to eradicate. But literary forms of expression that are beyond the comprehension of children are to be strictly avoided.