CHILDREN WHO "SHOWOFF."

Mt Benger Mail, 3 November 1937, Page 1

CHILDREN WHO "SHOWOFF."

WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THIS PECULIAR TRAIT “The desire to impress people, to make- the world sit up ■and notice us, comes to all of Us at times. So it is hardly surprising that most children go through a phase of showing-off, and that most mothers have blushed at times for the way their children have behaved in front of strangers.

“A little showing-off is natural, but if we reward it with too much applause and admiration, our children won’t be able to be happy without it when they grow up. If, on the other hand, we snub them for showing-off, they may turn bitterly against a world which doesn’t seem to appreciate them. Everything depends on the way we handle the child who deliberately seeks applause. “Real, persistent showing-off seems to begin somewhere between four and five; little boys suddenly take to roaring and fighting, being violently rude and disobedient when other people are about. A small girl I know repeats all the swear words she has heard, and a good many of her own invention, when her mother has visitors. Yet another makes faces, a third talks in a shrill yelp and pretends to stutter AVhy ? ,, Thus writes Dr Anne Pedler, expert in child psychology, in “The New Idea,” the threepenny weekly paper for women. Her explanation of these curious childish traits, and how we can overcome them in our little ones should b e read by every mother. The complete article appears in “The New Idea,” for October 22 —now on sale, at all newsagents—threepence.