Children - Play and Recreation : Part 1

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 38 of 42)

There are a number of theories advocated by late authors on the "psychology of play," in which they connect the free and easy play of the modern child with the more serious and sober pursuits of our ancestors - our racial parents of prehistoric and primitive times. We quote from Worry and Nervousness:

And so we are told that the spectacle of the young infant suspending its weight while holding on to some object, and the early instincts so commonly shown to climb ladders, trees, or anything else available, are but racial mementos of our ancestral forest life. The hide and seek games, the desires to convert a blanket into a tent, the instinct for "shanties" - which all boys universally manifest - we are told that these forms of play are but the echo of remote ages when our ancestors sojourned in caves, lived in tents, or dwelt in the mountain fastness. In this same way the advocates of this theory seek to explain the strange and early drawings which the young lad has for wading, swimming, fishing, boating, and other forms of aquatic recreation.

In this chapter we purpose to discuss the play of the child, whose career we will divide, for convenience, into three stages:

Juvenile Play Days

As nearly as is possible the little child should be out of doors the greater part of his waking hours: To our mind it is nothing short of criminal to keep the little folks in the house when the weather permits outdoor life.

Of the outdoor games which we have to suggest, perhaps the sand pile stands at the head of the list. Clean white sand should be placed in an enclosure just low enough for the child to climb over. Many, many happy hours may be spent in this sand pile, at the same time the little fellow is in his own yard and the watchful mother knows the drift of the conversations which take place.

In a previous chapter we called attention to the fact that the little girls' frocks should be provided with knickerbockers, so that she may run and jump, or sit as comfortable as the little boy, without a conscious reproof ever ringing in her ears, "Mary, do keep your dress down."

Outdoor Play

Tree climbing is another source of enjoyment to these little people and they should early be taught how to climb. Instead of suggesting fear to the child let the mother go into the yard and talk with her something like this: "Now, Mary, put your foot in that fork, now catch hold of that upper limb, hold on tight, you will get there yet;" instead of the following conversation, which all of our readers have heard: "John, do take care or you will fall and break your neck; be careful, you will fall. There, I knew you'd fall!" etc. Both mothers are trying to accomplish the same thing - one mother suggests "fore-thought," while the second mother thoughtlessly suggests "fear-thought."

These little people should be provided with rakes, spades, and hoes, and a portion of the yard should be given them in which they are at liberty to dig and rake and have a royal good time. We have yet to see the child who is not interested in flower-bed making, and the mother should think of the virgin opportunity to instill the story of life into the child's mind as he plants the seed, and day by day watches its development and growth.

A pen of rabbits may be a good thing, if proper measures are taken to prevent their burrowing out of the pen, destroying the lawn, causing much sadness of heart to their little keeper, and no end of annoyance to the neighbors.

Roller skating and hoop rolling, as well as sledding, are all valuable recreations. The snowman, snowballing, and the sled riding all bring the ruddy glow of health to the cheek, and are wonderful producers of good appetites and restorers of "tired out nerves."

Indoor Games

There is no end to the number of things that can be done when the weather shuts us in, but before we take up these games let us never forget that every child thoroughly enjoys going out in the rain well protected with rubber boots, raincoat, and umbrella.

It is not extravagant to burn plenty of electricity or gas on cloudy days, for the artificial sunlight helps to cheer the heart. Such indoor games as those which may be had from blocks, puzzles, cutting out of pictures, darning of cardboard, soldier games, dolls, housekeeping, etc., are all splendid means of recreation for the little ones. Let the mother or caretaker join with the little folks in these pleasant games. For the older children, checkers and dominoes are most excellent indoor games.

The "Going to School" Child

First of all we must decide upon the bedtime hour, as well as the hour for rising. Between the ages of six to twelve, the bedtime hour should be eight o'clock, or not later than eight-thirty, and the rising hour at seven, or seven-thirty in the morning, for children of this age require eleven to twelve hours sleep.

Again, there must be taken into consideration the home work that the children at school are asked to do by their teachers. While this home work is not usually taxing, yet the time spent in doing the work must be taken account of. In our opinion the best time for home work is an hour and a half to two hours after the little fellow gets home from school. He should be allowed to relax for one and a half or two hours, to play out of doors whenever the weather permits, and then with either his mother or his caretaker from one-half to three-quarters of an hour should be spent on the lesson for the following day. Following this, the dinner hour is enjoyed with the parents, and after that there should always be provision in the daily duties of the father and mother for at least a half hour for the evening romp; so that play and recreation during the school age occupies possibly not more than two or two and one-half hours a day outside of school hours.

The playgrounds of schools are of inestimable value, and we quite agree with one who said: "If we can only afford one of the two - the playground or the school - have the playground first and afterward the school." The small parks and playgrounds of the cities are a great blessing to the little folks.

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.