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Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1927, Page 29

"The Child in the .Changing Home." By C. W. Kimmins, , M.A., D.Sc. London: Herbert Jenkins.

"The Child in the Changing Homo" is brief but full of valuable information, ■ suggestions, research, and ideas. It is easy to read, each chapter being vividly expressed, aiid with no boring repetition or explanation. In the first chapter the old-fashioned father and mother are dealt with; the one allpowerful, perfectly satisfied witlv his own opinions, and intolerant of others; the other absorbed in the supervision of the home and in efforts to gain the approval-of the lord and master. Her efforts towards the children were admirable, usually, and included the creature comforts and the provision of the best. possible governesses. The main i factor, according to the writer of the great change which has come about in

the homo life, is the shock, or series of shocks, which were given to life when the thesis, which had been subconsciously accepted for generations, that women were intellectually inferior to man, was questioned, dbu'bW, and disproved; first, by the results cl examinations; and, second, by the placing of women in positions requiring authority and organising power, when they were often not found wanting, but were in the generality successful. The "profession of parenthood" is dealt with, and the homes where there are^neurotie mothers and bad-tempered fathers, with domestic conflicts continual, are shown clearly to be most inimical to the proper development of the family. The importance of pre-natal period, is most seriously . stressed, and ; ■ this chapter alone would make the book worth while. The chapter entitled, "Parents as Seen by Their Children," should be read, marked, learnod, and inwardly digested by most parents, for few'could fail to get daily lessons and serious hints from it. The weak places in the armour of the father and mother are so wisely and kindly dealt with, with full understanding of both sides. An unusual view is taken of the child who "day dreams," with a psychological estimate of the reasons, values, and drawback? of the process. The children who wi" draw themselves from life and die in the daytime do so for valid iv. sons, which are well developed in tlu • book. The early days of the child's life is also dealt with on psychological lines, with due regard to evolution as well. ' The writer is of opinion that not nearly enough investigation is given to the attributes of the nurses or others in charge, of the very young child.The type of woman in control is in many cases selected almost entirely for her knowledge of physical ailments, and is mentally unworthy to be a companion for the child.". In fact, the pre-school period is-one of the most unsatisfactory in the modern home, according to the writer. At no time in life should the child have a thoroughly suitable aultable companion than in this period. The harm of thoughtless or untruthful answers to the continual questioning is severely dealt with, and fathers come in for,some special severity. Comparisons have been made among children of the same age,.with different surroundings, with the result that the.age up to six years or so is proved to be of immense importance for good or evil. Fears are reasonably and kindly dealt with, and again there is an invaluable chapter for those in charge of little ones. The value of the nursery school properly conducted, is shown, and Mr Kimmins has evidently the' highest °P»i011 °f these. The freedom of the child, and the development of, from seven to fourteen, of the spirit and the herd spirit, is well explained, and the claims of each child for proper education is insisted upon. The mental aloofness'of fathers from their children, and the decrease in the special interest of mothers in the education of tlio ; family, which is largely left Wholly to. .teachers, is mentioned as regrettable, and also the question of sexeducation, in which it is found, "there is- an absurd air of mystery, and a reluctance to deal with a perfectly normal nnd important development, as if it were allied to the powers of darkness. Ihese things should not be left to chance, for it may be a most unfortunate and disastrous one.. Play and reading in the changing home are morecheery subjects, for these are well thought of, and the possibilities of the day are great and. over-increasing with' tho on-coming of the light of science -Lho necessity for making children joyous from every point is shown to bo of importance, and the right of little ones to bq happy in their young times is developed throughout this most interesting book.—M.H.C.