The book of the child: An attempt to set down what is in the mind of children

Chapter 2: Preface

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Parenthood & Family Relations Psychiatry/Psychology

About This Book

An observant guide to children's minds and upbringing that surveys mental traits—memory, imagination, imitation—alongside moral and social development, daily pleasures, and sources of pathos. The author combines practical advice and reflections on parental roles, discipline, and communal care, arguing for parental proximity, moderation between harshness and indulgence, and attention to children's impressionability. Chapters examine religious feeling, play, organized children's meetings, and the condition of neglected youngsters, offering examples, recommendations, and an appendix of practical notes for caregivers.

Printed by
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd.,
Bath, England.
(2319)

Preface

I am rather shy about this little book.

If it were not for the kindness of some few friends whose knowledge of children far exceeds my own, it would never have seen the light.

For their encouragement and for the gift of their experiences and advice I am deeply grateful. I know that they would rather I did not mention them by name.

The thoughts which I have tried to put together have been growing in my mind for years. Some, in fact, I have quoted from articles I wrote some time ago for a magazine no longer in existence.

Perhaps my best excuse for letting this book appear is that, though I have no children of my own, other people’s children have always been very good to me.

F. D. How.

May, 1907.