KEEP CHILDREN BUSY

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 115, 8 February 1935, Page 5

KEEP CHILDREN BUSY

Toddlers Need Occupation

If mothers would take more trouble to provide suitable occupation for their small boys and girls, 'that very sad sight, a bored child,‘would be" seen more rarely, says a writer in an exchange. So many parents think that if their' children are given expensive toys then they should be quite happy. This is a great mistake To begin with, so many toys given to children are chosen more with an eye to their .parents’ taste than to Chat of the children themselves. Then again, a beautiful ; toy does not always provide means of employment which will keep the children happy and contented when they are playing by themselves. Children, especially those of between two and six years old, need employment They' are willing to use all their faculties in experimenting with life and in proving their own capabilities. Far more real enjoyment can be provided by odd; scraps and pieces of stuff from which something satisfying to the child himself can be -made than by the most expensive toy in existence. A really understanding mother realises that her children are human beings. We all know how dull life becomes when we have no employment and no definite object in view, and there is no reason for supposing that small boys and girls feel any differently. Of course what kind of amusement is best depends entirely on individual children. Small girls will as a rule love being allowed to string brightlycoloured beads together to form a necklace for their dolls or to be given as a present to some grown-up person. Very often this game will appeal just as strongly to the small boy, and po distinction should be made in the nursery between sexes. Many a small boy has had his games spoilt because his nurse or mother has refused to allow him to play with dolls because. this seemed unmanly.

As well as beads, pieces of brightly coloured stuff will be; appreciated in the nursery as improvised clothes for dolls and animals. Bricks, too, are always a favourite form of,amusement, as these can be used to make all'sorts of fascinating things In the brick box can be collected all kinds of other building material—old ‘sea shells, coloured pebbles, empty cotton reels, pretty boxes, and anything that the children like to keep (here.

Children do not like to feel that their day is an aimless one. They will appreciate strict routine, and the realisation that they have their occupations to fit into,a scheduled time will give them the feeling that they have important things to do.

Daily. rest hours and punctual meal times all help to create this feeling, and after the age of four years old has been reached the beginnings of education can take the form of a dally hour of some easy and interesting task. Handcrafts are always enjoyed; and it is an excellent thing to teach the toddler to use his hands capably, and most children love a big picture book in which -they can colour the pictures with crayons or paint. Counting can be taught by brightlycoloured beads strung on a wire frame, and. the child’s artistic abilities can find full outlet in colouring animals and flowers on brown paper to be cut out and used as nursery pictures later on. The important part about any of these tasks which can .be set the toddler is that they should be done daily and at a fixed time every day. No child can feel that he is at a loss for something to do if he knows that set tasks await him. He will enjoy his hours for play twice as much if he realises that he has not got the whole day before him in which to do as he likes. Corsage Sprays or Orchids, Roses, Violets. Debutantes’ Posies.—Miss Murray, 36 Willis St. Phone 40-541.— Adyt,