Section 6 - Part A:

Child Psychology 

Several times during the course of these Lessons we have considered the Subjective Mind, and parts of Lessons Two and Four of the Course have been devoted exclusively to it.

This Lesson, dealing with child psychology, must in a large measure relate back to these discussions; for child psychology is, in all things that make it different from adult psychology, very largely the psychology of the Subjective Mind. 

We might as well realise, also, that child psychology is in many respects very similar to animal psychology. For young children are, in a sense, animals, with all the traits of mind that have accrued to the race in the long struggle upwards from the tree-dwelling and the cave. They are like animals with something added — but still, like animals, born with instincts and tendencies, just as animals are. They are also born instinctively wise, with the crystallised wisdom of thousands of years passed along to them through the experiences of their ancestors. 

It may help us if we view this matter of instinctive wisdom from the animal standpoint. A newly hatched incubator chick, for instance, is frightened by any object flying through the air or creeping along the ground, because flying and creeping are the principal methods by which danger has come to its ancestors for millions of years. A person having a voice for mimicry may send this same incubator-hatched chick scurrying for cover by imitating the sound that the mother hen makes upon the

appearance of danger, and may call it back by imitating her cluck. Such a chick has never had any individual experience or teaching to inform it of the meaning of these things. It has never seen nor heard a mother hen, but it knows her signals and their meaning — knows them so well that it will instantly heed even a crude imitation of them by a human being.

The same thing that has been said of the chick is true of every other bird and animal in the world. In some species the degree and amount of inherited wisdom is even more marked, as, for instance, in the well-ordered flights of migratory birds. 

Human beings are also born with all the inherited wisdom of their ancestors — and a great deal more. It is not so noticeable at a glance, because human infants are physically so helpless, and for a long time live such sheltered lives, that their intuitive wisdom is not so quickly shown as is that of chicks, piglets or kittens. Yet as soon as children are able to move about and be aware of their surroundings, we see their intuitive wisdom asserting itself. They are afraid of falling and of loud noises. They show rage when their movements are restricted; and they respond to caresses with love. These are the principal things that their ancestors have feared, got angry about or loved from time immemorial, and the emotional reactions to them are passed along to them. 

The Inherited Wisdom of Cells 

The biologist, who supposes that all intelligent life has its beginning and end in the cells of which the bodies of men and animals are composed, puts forward the theory that inherited wisdom is passed along through some kind of a memory-consciousness of the reproductive cell. There seems to be no room for doubt that the cells are possessed of a degree of consciousness and intelligence, and that they are capable of considerable education; but it is difficult to conceive of any single cell of any species of life as being possessed of the entire intuitive knowledge of the species. For instance, one finds difficulty in imagining that the tiny piece of jelly attached to the yolk of a fertile egg knows the cluck and danger signal of the mother hen, or that it knows that flying and creeping things are probably enemies. It would require a still greater flight of the imagination to conceive of this tiny cell as knowing how to build itself into the body of a chick. 

The fact of the matter seems clearly to be that each species of living things is attuned to its own race-mind or group-intelligence, this race-mind apparently being a part or phase of the Universal Mind. The race-mind of any particular species seems to be a storehouse into which has been gathered the memories of all the members of that species that have ever lived — especially memories of such events as have appealed to passions or excited fears. 

This is a wide field, in which there has been much study and research work, and there is plenty of room for differences of opinion. It makes no particular difference to us here, however, whether the intuitive knowledge and wisdom of new-born children come to them through a race-mind or through a cell. The important thing is that the children are possessed of this strange knowledge and wisdom, and that their minds are not just a blank upon which the record of their lives and experiences is to be written. It is true that what we know as the child's Objective Mind is blank at birth; but that blank mind has the function of reason, which immediately begins to fill in the blank by linking one experience or sensation to another and reaching conclusions as to what they mean. For instance, normal children are hungry soon after birth, and their reaction to the first offer of food shows their reason and their intuitive knowledge working together. When their mothers' breast is presented to their lips, they know from many ages of experience that food is being offered to them. They know also that this particular kind of food responds not to biting, nor to chewing, but to sucking. Reason, therefore, dictates that they should suck, which they proceed to do. Through their inherited race-knowledge they know that an effective way to bring help when in trouble is to yell; and the chances are that before they are a week old they will be making full use of this method for getting food, light, fondling and talk. Many children are soon badly "spoiled" by these responses to their crying, and cry for everything they want until they are several years old. Crying is beneficial to young children, and the ideal way to train them is to let them finish their crying before ministering to them in any way. Under this treatment they will soon realise that crying will not get them the things they want, and will no longer cry except when in actual discomfort. 

The Subjective Mentality of Children 

One who is responsible for the training and rearing of children should constantly remember that children's mentality is largely subjective, dealing mostly in imagination, preferring make-believe to reality, and more readily teachable with symbols than with directly stated facts. The average small girl often prefers a rag-doll over one that is too coldly realistic. She may feel slighted if she is not given a "nice" doll to place in her pram and display to her friends; but if she is given a "Raggedy Ann" the more realistic doll will often be sadly neglected. 

Some parents provide neat and well-built doll's houses for their children. The children appreciate such a gift, of course, and take pride in showing it to their friends; but the parents are often disappointed because the realistic house is so little used. A well-made tent can spoil the fun of a children's camping game. They usually prefer the crude symbolism of a few worn bed sheets. This subjective tendency in children often causes them to be untruthful. In some cases, they juggle facts and fancies merely because it is natural and pleasant for them to do so. In other cases, children seem to experience much difficulty in separating actual happenings from the mental symbols and pictures inspired by the actual happenings. Of course, it is worse than useless to punish children for untruthfulness. Rather, they should be impressed with the value of truth over fancy, and trained to distinguish between actual events and imagined events. 

The Inferiority Complex 

The commonest sin of parents against their children is the planting in their childish minds of what we know in Psychology, as an Inferiority Complex. Parents see in the conduct or nature of their children some real or imagined defect, and with genuine loving intentions try to remedy that defect by calling their children's attention to it, criticising them for it, scolding them, and making uncomplimentary comparisons between them and other children. Average children have such unquestioning faith in the judgment of their parents that this scolding and criticism soon create the impression in children's minds that in some way they are undesirably different from other children — that there is a defect in their natures which makes them below normal standard — in short, that they are inferior. When this impression takes root in the childish mind, it is very stubborn in its persistence, and the latent feeling of inferiority may persist all through life, even though the criticism which provoked it may soon be forgotten. 

Once the Inferiority Complex is implanted in the individual's mind, that individual's prospects of success and happiness in life are severely limited, unless by a happy chance the complex is ousted by a counter-suggestion of some kind. For one who is so afflicted is constantly affected by the Law of Reversed Effort. At the start of every undertaking such people are confronted with a feeling that they are incapable of success in any real sense of the term, and are constantly haunted by the fear and expectation of failure. Of course, this attitude of mind causes them to do, say and think the things that will most swiftly cause their failure. Each failure furnishes fresh fuel for the fires of this Inferiority Complex by demonstrating to them that they fail where others succeed.

The Inferiority Complex often shows baffling phases. Victims are sometimes unusually talkative, with a tendency either to display their wisdom and learning in their talk, or subtly to compliment themselves. They are unconsciously rebelling and defending themselves against their submerged but harassing sense of inferiority. If they actually had the confidence in themselves that their conversation seems to indicate, they would be successful in their undertakings. All their show of self-confidence is merely a defence against their fixed and abiding sense of a lack of it. Other victims of the Inferiority Complex become morose and sour in their dispositions, with a tendency to feel that they are neglected and mistreated. They make themselves nuisances and kill-joys to all who are associated with them. But the great majority of the victims of the Inferiority Complex never show either of these extreme symptoms. They just plod along through mediocre lives, going about their work in a listless and half-hearted way, disappointed in most of their hopes and failing or half-succeeding in most of their undertakings. 

When children habitually show an undesirable trait, they should be lovingly and cheerfully told what wonderful and great children they are in general, with a suggestion that the particular trait is below their high standards, their fine natures and their good sense. In this way wrong-doing may be overcome with good, and the undesirable tendency may be weeded out without creating a disastrous Inferiority Complex. 

To Punish or Not to Punish? 

There has been, and still is, much discussion as to whether or not children should be punished for their misdeeds, the difference of opinion arising out of the fact that there are so many different kinds of children. There are some children who certainly ought never to be punished, because other means of correction are better and more effective. There are other children who seem to need the restraint of fear. There are only two motive factors behind human conduct — the hope of reward and the fear of punishment. The hope of reward is the better of these two motives, and the chances are that all children would respond to it if it could be properly presented to them. Many parents, however, know practically nothing about child psychology, and blunder along bringing up their children by doing whatever the occasion seems to require. Such blundering parents will probably continue to find it necessary to punish their children; but the parent who is a student of Practical Psychology should never punish a child until he is convinced that he cannot succeed with suggestion. 

Use Power of Suggestion 

Children are much more sensitive to suggestion than are adults. As a rule, their minor pains, such as stomach-ache and headache, respond very readily to the rapid repetition method. Of course, the usual medical method should be used in conjunction with the psychological method with young children. Place the tips of your fingers over the painful part, and ask them mentally to repeat these words as fast as you say them: "It is going, going, going", telling them that this means the pain is going, and that it actually will go in a minute or two. Then start repeating the words rather deliberately, but with a gradual increase in rapidity until you are speaking the word "going" about three or four times per second. At the end of one to three minutes the pain will usually have eased. Of course, this method gives only temporary relief, and unless they have proper medical treatment the pain is likely to recur. 

If children have any chronic ailment or defect, they should be taught to use the healing methods that have already been prescribed for adults, and especially the simple little formula prescribed in the first Lesson.

Children are also very sensitive to suggestion while they are in a light sleep, and parents who have a working knowledge of Practical Psychology may, by taking advantage of this fact, make their children's lives and habits practically anything they desire. Of course, parents who try to mould their children's lives and characters take on a heavy burden of responsibility. But the rearing of children involves a heavy responsibility in any case, and the obligation may be better and more effectively discharged by going about it deliberately and intelligently than by leaving it to chance and haphazard incidents. 

It has been fully demonstrated that the human mind is teachable during sleep, and just a little practical application of this truth takes all the drudgery out of the child's school work. 

The progress of the school-children in their studies may be greatly helped by so simple a thing as putting a small clock in their bedroom, and having them go to sleep each night hearing its ticking say: "I'm learning faster every day — I'm learning faster every day". They should be told, of course, that this practice is designed to stimulate their minds to greater activity and help them with their studies. After a few days of this simple practice results will soon begin to show themselves. is a very simple and elementary application of the principle involved, being quite similar to the healing formula prescribed in the first Lesson. We will now consider some more sophisticated applications of the same principle. 

One of these methods consists in going to the children's bed after they are asleep, slightly arousing them by stroking their face, and then telling them in low soothing tones what wonderful and lovable children they are becoming, how studious they are getting to be, and that from now on they will learn rapidly. The same method may be used for correcting bad habits and undesirable traits, in which case children should be told, after being slightly aroused, that they are becoming what parents wish they should become, and that they are stopping the undesirable habits. This method may also be used for the treatment of minor ailments and the correction of physical defects; in which case children should be told that they are growing stronger and healthier every day, or that they are getting better every day. Improvement along these lines will soon become apparent. 

An even more sophisticated method of applying the principle of suggestion to the children's school-work is actually to teach them one of their difficult lessons after they have been slightly aroused. Any kind of lesson may be taught — tables, rules, geography, history, the solution of mathematical problems, and so on. This method of teaching takes some of the parents' time, but the results will prove very rewarding. 

The Ideal Condition for Suggestion 

The ideal condition for any of these applications of the principle of suggestion is to arouse sleeping children until they answer to their name, or reply "Yes" or "No" to a simple question. Then say to them: "Now you are going back to sleep, but you will still hear everything I say. You are now going to sleep, but you will hear and remember everything I say as long as I talk to you". Then carry on with the teaching or suggestion in the manner already described. Finally, end by saying: "Now you are sound asleep. You will sleep all night, and will awake tomorrow morning feeling well, bright and happy, and remembering all I have taught you". 

Teachers may get remarkable results from very simple applications of the principle discussed here. An excellent method is to set aside a few minutes each day as a "concentration period" during which the children should first be directed to relax and physically "let go". This momentary period of relaxation should be followed by a mass-repetition of the words, "I'm learning faster every day". The exercise will be even more effective if the teacher times the syllables to eight taps on a desk with a ruler or other light object, and with a slight pause between the repetitions. The words should be repeated about 20 times, and the aim should be to make them more orderly and rhythmical at each daily period. The teacher should, of course, work out occasionally a new formula, so as to meet the changing conditions and needs of the class and maintain interest in the work. 

These methods of suggestion may also be used in arousing children's interest in some useful occupation. Practically all choices of a life-work are brought about by some kind of a suggestion, and if children seem to have made an unfortunate choice, it may be changed by a counter-suggestion. If children do not prefer any particular line of study by the time, they should make a decision and go into training for it, a choice may be made for them, and through suggestion they may be encouraged to adopt that choice. Child psychology, is a subject concerning which many volumes might be written, but a general application to all children of the few simple methods described here would shortly populate the world with men and women who would readily solve the problems of the world and largely redeem the race from the things that now take so much of the joy out of living.