THE LADIES’ WORLD

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2408, 25 January 1909, Page 7

THE LADIES’ WORLD

THE CHILD MIND

In tlie Christmas number of the •'■"Windsor Magazine,V Lady Henry Somerset has a charming and suggestive article on the development: ofLhe child, which she begins with tlio state ment that the greatest danger to any nation lies in the wrong development of it children, and the greatest modern fallacy is the belief that precocity /:W sign of advancement, instead of j:-4 menace to civilised life. The people who preserve normal childhood for the longest period are those who in w the end will produce vital and healthy adult life.

Dealing with the child’s marvellous imagination, she says:—A child’s world is distinct from ours, but none the less real. That is a- truth we need to understand more clearly, It is not that he has not grasped our standpoint, it is that ho lias an altogether different oiie, that he lives, not in a limited bit- of our world, but in a, world entirely his own. Sometimes a child will tell us lon< r and circumstantial stories, and we sa.v in our narrow misunderstanding: ££ oh, hush, dear! I’m afraid that is not true.” To the child there is no untruth,- he has seen it all; has met the hear in the wood, tlio bull in the 'field, was delivered from peril by knights in armour, or by his own prowess. How far truer and wiser to ~ay: ‘-That happened in the dream--land to which you went,” and realise that, waking or sleeping, the world of wonders is his greatest possession! To tear a child from this rich and sheltered soil, and to transplant his mind into the glare of our matter-of- . fact life, is to arrest and stunt liis growth. And herein lies the - real danger of a child’s contact with adult life: v '

The first thing that struck me about. American family life was the constant presence of children with their parents. This seemed an ideal state of things and I contrasted' it with the way in which many English children are kept in the'nursery and schoolroom, with a set hour for visiting the drawing-room, and a routine life which seldom varies.

I congratulated myself that this American habit was gaining in our country, and that children were, on the whole, far more in the company of their -elders than of old; but my theories have, on mature observation, received some rude awakenings. The society of adults is good for children, only in so far as they realise that they dare not disturb the child’s point of view, that their focus of vision is a different one, and that to adjust child life for child’s eyes as it suits their own is to distort it hopelessly.

Sonic time ago a lady in this country, who belongs to a race famous for its large business capacities, was boast, ing to a friend of mine of the extreme intelligence-of her little boy. “Ho. is remarkable,” she said : “you would hardly credit what a mind he has. The other day he came to mo in real trouble. ‘Oh, nmnimic, I have had such a dreadful dream !’ he said. AVliat is it, sonuicP’ I asked. ‘Oh. imunmie,’ he replied, ‘only fancy, I dreamt that Blackton’s shares went down!’ ”

She was blind to the fact that nothing could be lhore pathetic than to associate the dreams of childhood witli such sordid trifles.

i One notices the same thing in these where parents and eh, id re a have been so constantly together. It would be hard for the parents to remember always that the child mustjretain its own point of view, but in many- cases no amount of trouble would be too great. One recalls houses where the grown-ups talk incessantly about dress, and where children have an abnormally developed gift for noticing what adults about them arc wearing, houses where the parents- criticise all their acquaintances frankly and unmercifully, and' whore the. children are growing up horrid little cynics. To quote a rather extreme case of the adaptability of the child’s mind, .a very pleasant lady recently moved into a now home that at the cost of much ingenuity and care had been charmingly furnished at a very small cost. She had reason to ho proud of the result of her labors, but slie allowed her pride, the zeal of her house, to eat her up. Every friend who called had to he taken through all the rooms on a tour of admiration, and as the lady passed through the rooms her little five-year-old son trotted at her side. One. day a small girl came to play with liim, and on her return her mother asked her what she had played at. “We didn’t play/ said the child, with enthusiasm, wc went all over the house and looked at the rooms, and just fancy those lovely curtains in the spare room were only sixpence a yard.”

CHILDREN’S FROCKS

Plain, natural-colored Shantung is finding much favor for children’s holiday wear (says an. Australian paper). All kinds of garments are made of it, even to the wide, round, shady hat, with its simple drapery of sil'k or spotted muslin. Unlike white materials, it docs not show every soil, and it is, oerhaps, the easiest of all fabrics to do up. For dressy wear, too, Shantung in the new fancy colors cannot he bettered for children’s wear. There are such charming tones of faded pink, blue, and green obtainable now, made up with mitred straps, a few buttons, and. a little stitchery that they can soon he converted ‘into dainty little frocks that will give lasting wear. Regularly every year there is a revival of the pleated sailor frock of blue serge or linen. This season,, in nlace of the usual big white _lawn collar, there is one of embroidery 'and • lace, that is much softer in effect, and much more becoming to small girls. A light, hut warm coat should always he addon to a child’ § outfit. Most i mothers have learned by experience that a warm day, often, when a breeze springs up, turns quite cold, and then extra covering, is most necessary". Coats of Shantung are not much trouble to carry about, and they.answer the purpose, better than most material, because they are both light and warm. The colored varieties in alee the prettiest of these .little wraps for children, and require little or no ornamentation; quite short and Joosc, .with balloon sleeves caught into plain s—4-buffs. Some artistic treatment can U be lavished in the way of needlework if liked, and the garment will be I improved for it; but that is a matter for taste and the ability of the maker. Riding astride is gaining many votaries, apart from young - children, . who are now adapting the method

universally. Hiding attire for hot weather has undergone a marked change for the better. A Tussore silk £oat, with a cloth or linen, skirt of the saipe color, and a Panama hat, form a cool and delightful resource for the rider on a summer day. The new coarse straw sailor hat, with its wide brim, and plain black velvet band and bow. is also smart riding wear that makes for comfort, and a nice shade tor the eyes. Grey and brown linen habits, made with semi-tight coats, and large stitched linen hats, are also finding much favor.