How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.

affection and regard. The first-born is forgotten, and only a first-born child can understand the bitterness and disillusion of the tragedy of desertion by those in whose confidence and devotion he had invested his sole hope of salvation. The older child frequently develops a neurosis at this point unless the intelligent handling of the situa¬ tion by his parents opens new avenues of social significance to him. The best course, naturally, is to give the older child the feeling that he has not been deserted at all. This is accomplished by warning him of the advent of the new-born child, and preparing the first¬ born to find significance and love in the care and custody of the younger child. It is important that the older child should feel that the attention to the younger child is not a detraction of interest from him, but a necessary consequence of the younger child’s weakness. It is a very good thing to put the older child in a nursery school at this time, and it is essential that a world of new privileges, new toys, and new activities be opened to him. A practical hint to mothers : if an older child develops night terrors, or bed-wetting, or stuttering, or cruelty, or temper tantrums, or abnormal timidity and shyness after the birth of a younger child, it is a certain sign that he feels himself wrongly dethroned. These are symptoms of a childhood neurosis and should be ve ry care¬ fully treated, by friendly explanation and encouragement. If the child does not react, he should be taken to a competent psychiatrist or teacher schooled in child guidance. These symptoms are not just bad habits—they are critical symptoms of fear, of discouragement, of withdrawal — forerunners of an inferiority complex. Their meaning: is 1 UTr , J r. . , © always : It you won t pay attention to me and love me as you used to do, I’ll compel you to do it by being ill ! ” The old way of treating such conduct disorders of child¬ hood by liberal applications of the birch and hair-brush is inexcusable. For one thing it seldom cures the habits ; for another, the child wins his point and gains the attention of his parents, for he does not discriminate between a kiss and a spanking in these situations.