INFANTS’ UTOPIA I to biff right back—maybe twice, If your daughter insists on play-¢ ing with her dolls so long that she is late for school, let her be late; she'll soon find out she can't get | away with it. And if you don’t agree with these | suggestions, you're probably not the | only one. Nevertheless, they are characteristic of the New Deal in | child psychology which is being giv- en exhaustive ‘‘laboratory tests’ for | the first time in America at Ford- ham university, New York city's | seat of higher education in the | Bronx. Frisch Had the Idea. Fordham, distinguished as the al- | ma mater of Frankie Frisch, is not | accustomed to training her young | hopefuls in unorthodox ways. | Frankie, who used to play a whale of a lot of second base before aging | legs forced him to the sidelines as | manager of the garrulous Gas | House Gang representing St. Louis | in the National league, once gave managers heart failure by sliding into bases head first. All the laws of decency decree that it is far more desirable to slide feet first, so that your spikes may make ham- burger of a stubborn baseman, than to come into the bag head first, making it a cinch for the same baseman to plant a hard sphere none to gently in the center of your physiognomy. But Frankie insisted on sliding his own queer way, just like he had been taught at Ford- ham, and lo!, year after year he was discovered to lead the league in stolen bases when the annual sta- tistics were compiled. Now comes the Rev. Walter G. Summers, S. J., head of Fordham’'s department of psychology, with the announcement that the university is testing methods of child training which may appear to the average parent just about as practical as sliding head first appears to the average baseball coach. The experiments are being con- ducted with ten bright-eyed young- sters, five boys and five girls aged three to five, sons and daughters of college graduates, and ‘signed up" by their parents for a year's study. For the babies, known at Fordham as the ‘Control Group for Study,” it looks like a pretty slick deal, for they do nothing but have one grand time. The happier they are, the more successful is the course. They are perfect physical and psycho- logical youngsters, normal in every respect. Talking harshly to them is strictly taboo. No one will punish them: no one will say, “Ah, ah, mustn't touch!’ ; no one will “mama’’ them to the Nth degree; no one will hurry them up to eat their meals; no one will nag them, and no one will make them cry. In short, this is an in- fants’ Utopia. “Talent in Every Child.” Fordham's pre-school nursery is directed and maintained accord- ing to the teachings of Dr. Char- lotte Buhler, of Vienna, world- famed exponent of child psychology. It is under the immediate direction of Mrs. Emilie D. Schloemer, as- sisted bv "rs. Anna Blitz, just to emphasize his point. Dr. Buhler's principles are simple enough. Expressed fundamentally, they are: “Don't force a child's develop- ment—let it come naturally. There is talent in every child. Guide it when it arrives. Nature varies the pattern of every individual.” Students of the course will be able to follow closely, under ideal con- Focal points are reaction to language growth, phys- opment, emotional reactions and so- cialization. On the third floor at Keating hall, Fordham's new graduate school nursery. Every day at nine the noon they are taken home. So far as the children ever suspect, they are being brought simply to a pleas- ant nursery where there are lots of interesting playthings, a place to rest and no one to spoil their fun. How to Stop “Gimmes.” But they are not so isclated as they think. On fourfoot-high stools behind a one-way screen, students of child psychology watch their ac- tions, unobserved. The onlookers will be able thus to learn first hand why babies cry; why they shouldn't be nagged to eat their food; why they should be emmouraged to take off their own hats, coats and rubbers; why they should not be rushed through their meals; why they should be encour- aged to return a blow struck intentionally; why they should not be rushed into walking; why par- ents should not be over-anxious about the early expressions in a child's talk; how to stop a five-year- old youngster with the ‘‘gimmes’’ (one who says ‘‘gimme this” and ‘gimme that’'). To put it briefly, the observers may learn how to be better moth- ers and fathers. “After all,” says Mrs. Schloemer, who interprets the Buhler theory in the nursery, “you have to live with your children 25 years, and a few common sense applications in bring- ing up a youngster might make the difference between a life of happi- ness and one of regret.” This does not mean a few ‘common sense ap- plications’ on the seat of the pants, either, she says, and she has per- sonally given individual training to 500 children. Parents Are Impatient. “Don’t hurry your youngster,” says Mrs. Schloemer. “Too many mothers rush their children through breakfast, rush them off to schoo! and pepper them with a barrage of ‘don'ts’ only an adult could remem- ber. Let your child be late to school once in a while, but show him calmly that he did the wrong thing. The average parent has not enough patience. Any normal child wants to do the right thing and will, if he is given proper directional sta- bility. Rushing children through breakfast results in nervous indiges- tion, and forcing them to eat cul- tivates it. 1 have seen children two to three years old vomit when food is put before them. Cause— too much nagging by the parents. The sight of food has become re- volting. “When one youngster hits anoth- er, let him strike back. Up to a certain age, all arguments should be settled this way. It creates in- dependence, assertion and ultimate understanding. Please do not mis- understand that we advocate spon- soring hand to hand engagements. To children two, three and four years old, words mean little. It 1s action that registers here. Nat. urally, in adults it should be a bat- tle of words to settle a misunder- standing “Don’t over-mama your child. It robs him oi eu-ueveiopment, There's too much mama-ing from grandmother, sister, aunt and cous- The child's mother should be the mother.” Keep Promises to Children. She stresses the importance of adults’ building respect through in- tegrity. “Don't change your mind,” she warns. "If you \ to take your child for a walk in the park— do it. Don't say, ‘I've got to do something else.’ A child wants to respect you. Before you promise something stop and figure out if you will be able to keep that promise, “Don’t spank your child—it is on- ly an extreme measure. “Don't give your children trick toys, such as balls that roll back when they should go ahead or gas balloons that go up when they should come down. This is unnat- ural; a young child cannot under- stand it. Let him play with toys that exemplify such things as roil- ing down an incline when pushed, rubber balls that bounce, project blocks that teach formations. Let him play with sand, and with paints ~he'll figure things out for him- self very quickly. “Don't rush your child to walk. As soon as the organs are suffi- ciently strong he will be impelled to walk. A child seven to eight months sits up and starts to roll over: at ten months he'll pull himself up on a crib and shortly after that he'll start to attempt the first steps at locomotion. You Can't Enow Everything. “Don’t rush your child to talk, either. He'll talk when ready. If he pronounces words incorrectly, don't attempt to correct him. Do that in later years. You can't speak a foreign language correctly the first time you understand what words mean and later on you correct your mistakes in pronuncia- tion. Language development in a child is similar.” Mrs. Schloemer declares no or- dinary father or mother knows everything about a baby, and ad- vises that a doctor be consulted oc- casionally, especially in preference to experimenting when there is any doubt, “Don’t give your children too much money for toys,” she contin- ues. “Even ten cents a day is too much. A daily contribution is a short cut to creating the ‘gimmes’ in your child. If he gets into tan- trums say ‘no’ and mean it—he'll get over it.” Fordham's class was besieged with babies for the special nursery when the tests were being made, but the instructors are still looking for a healthy pair of twins to add to the class. In fact, they'll be doubly in. welcome at Keating hall, © Western Newspaper Union, ARARAAARRAAARARAARAAAR STAR DUST Movie « Radio * %%% By VIRGINIA VALE h*% 20 20 20 2 20 26 2 2 2 0 2% 2 20 00 2 2 2 0% 2 2 2% OR months you will be hear- ing about the great success of the film ‘‘Stage Door,” partly because it is such an entertain- ing picture, but more because it is proving a turning point in the careers of the many young actresses who appear in it. Katherine Hepburn, so long totter- ing on the brink of whimsy and ob- livion, returns to the early forthright manner of her great success, ‘‘Morning Glory’ and really tugs at your heart- strings. Ginger Rog- ers proves to be a fine dramatic ac- tress. Andrea Leeds and Lucille Ball make dramatic bits stand out so effec- tively that they have already been re- warded with leading Constance Collier, for many years a great idol of the London and Katherine Hepburn can be equally effective in motion _ Jack Benny has every reason to be proud of his wife's motion-pic- ture debut. In Paramount's “This Way Please,” Mary tosses nonsensical lines aboyl deftly as she does on the nation’s favorite air program. This picture also serves as the film debut of Fib- ber McGee and Molly, those pleas- ant homey folks of the radio, and brings back Buddy Rogers. He isn’t as young and exuberant as he used to be, but he can still lead a band. Crowded as the picture is with big- time favorites, two youngsters man- age to walk off with a large share of Jetty Grable is a little bombshell of vivacious beauty and Rufe Davis proves to be the most hilariously-entertaining of all hill billies with an | of a man sicking his hound dogs on a pig in a potato patch. the honors. We Decision on putting little Leatrice Joy Gilbert, daughter of the late John Gilbert, in the leading role of “National Velvet” is still in abey- ance, but she is assured a future in films. She will make her debut in “Benefits Forgot,” an ambitious producticn in which Walter Huston will play the lead at Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer. _ ea With Ruth Mix, daughter of Tom Mix, starting on the first of four cowgirl pictures she will make for Grand National, this young pany is assured more Westerns for release during the coming year than any other company. Tex Ritter is making eight musical Westerns for them, and Ken Maynard is coming back from his tour with the Cole Brothers circus to make eight dra- matic Westerns for them. come — Frances Dee retired from the babies and bring them up to the tod- dling age and when she returned not at all sure that she wanted to go on with her career. Now, how- with her husband, Joel Paramount is equally enthusiastic _— Claudette Colbert have all a very important role in “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife.” They were getting dis- couraged, when they happened to go to a party where ‘The Prisoner of Zenda" was shown, and as soon as they saw gGa.y Cooper David Niven they ry chorused “That's our man.” Luck ily, he was just on his way back from England, and Sam Goldwyn to whom he is under contract had no immediate plans for him. wn Won NHI ini There May Be Many Reasons for Making Quilted Chair Pads. F ALL the reasons for quilted chair pads were lined up in or- der of their importance the most intangible reason of all might head the list. Yes, it is quite likely that any decorator, amateur or professional would place atmos phere at the top 3ut then it is also possible that first rating might be given to the reason that the pressure of slals the backs is softened by quilted pads though it be mentioned, it is a that worn out cane replaced composition ed by Across irs of chai fact are inexpensive seats which may be disguis gay quilted pads. Chintz, calico or gingham chair fact one of the sim- plest and mest inexpensive ways of adding color and charm as well as comfort to a room. Such pads are often used on the backs of chairs and n« the seats, and for side chairs, the seat back cov- small quite easy to! the machine. | 2% on any such things as these it Is do the quilting on Or, if you wish to take the other point of view about it, the work of quilting them by hand would not an unreasonable amount is no doubt that handwork has a certain quaint ness that machine work lacks. The pads shown here are made | with one layer of sheet wadding | between two layers of the chintz, The edge are made of bias . 1 three layers consume of time There the tape. Cut the of the pad material exactly the size and shape you want them to be when finished Place the sheet wadding between the two layers of covering mate. rial as shown here at A. Either Friendly Talk | BCT after all, the very best | thing in good talk and the How it dissolves the bar- | riers that divide us, and loosens all constraint—this feeling that we and wish each other heartily well! | Everything into which it really good. It transforms letter-writing from a task into a pleasure. It makes music a thou- sand times more sweet. The peo- | ple who play and sing not at us, | but to us—how delightful it is to | listen to them! | Yes, there is a talkability that | can express itself even without | words. There is an exchange of thought and feeling which is happy alike in speech and in si-| lence. It is quietness pervaded | with friendship.—Van Dyke. | pin or baste in this position, and then quilt, either by hand or by machine, as is shown here at B. Make the ties by stitching the lengthwise edges of the bias tape together, and then tack them to the corners of the pad as at C be- fore it is bound. Now, bind the edges, sewing the ties right in with the binding as shown here at D. Every Homemaker should have a copy of Mrs. Spears’ new book, SEWING. Forty-eight pages of step-by-step directions for making slipcovers and dressing tables; restoring and upholstering chairs, making curtains for ev- ery type of room and purpose. Making lampshades, rugs, otto- mans and other useful articles for the home. Readers wishing a copy should send name and address, enclosing 25 cents, to Mrs. Spears, 210 South Desplaines St., Chicago, [llinois. couches, Favorite Recipe of the Week ~ Dinner-in-a-Pie 2 small carrols 1 cup tomato soup» is cup bguid or Eravy 1: cup peas Trim and dice kidney. Prepare onions, turnips, carrots. Cook kid- ney and vegetables 10 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain, sav- ing % cup liquid to thin soup. Fill baking dish (1% quart) with meat and vegetables. Add pepper and salt. Add tomato soup and % cup liquid. Cover with your favorite pie crust. ALLEL with a = Coleman= LANTERN = Light up your Cole man and gol blackest night tern! 1 veal kidney 1 cup pear] onions 4 small white turnips 2% cups cooked meat, diced ele to it every need and your dealer's. FREE FOLDERS —Send postcard today. THE COLEMAN LAMP AND STOVE CO. Dept. WU18S, Wichita, Kans; Chicage, Hily Philadelphia, Pa. Los Angeles, Call. (T1858) Z I» AREEE. TANEREEE/
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers