The Mind of the Child Part 9

ORGANIC SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS.--Fear of pigs (168).

WILL.

_Instinctive Movements._--Going on all-fours; jumping, climbing gives pleasure (280).

INTELLECT.

_Speech._--Rapid increase of activity in forming ideas, and greater certainty in use of words. Ambition; observation and combination; beginning of self-control; use of his own name and of names of parents; independent thinking (167). Increase in number of words correctly p.r.o.nounced; attempt to use prepositions; first intelligent use of the article (168). Questioning active; first spontaneous question on eight hundred and forty-fifth day. "Where?" is his only interrogative word.

Reproduction of foreign expressions (169). Imagination lively; paper cups used like real ones. Articulation better, but still deficient. Many parts of the body named correctly (170). Child makes remarks for a quarter of an hour at a time concerning objects about him, sings, screams in sleep (171).

TWENTY-NINTH MONTH.

SENSES.

SIGHT.--_Discrimination of Colors._--One hundred and twenty-fourth week, right, 58; wrong, 49. Eight hundred and sixty-eighth day, child takes colors of his own accord and names them; confounding rose, gray, and pale-green, brown and gray, blue and violet. One hundred and twenty-fourth and one hundred and twenty-fifth weeks, right, 80; wrong, 34 (14). Red and yellow generally named rightly; blue and green not. Red and yellow are removed; child is less interested. One hundred and twenty-fifth and one hundred and twenty-sixth weeks, right, 80; wrong, 63. Orange confounded with yellow, blue with violet, green with gray, black with brown. Failure of attempt to induce child to put like colors together, or to select colors by their names (15).

_Direction of Look._--One hundred and twenty-fourth week, gaze follows ball thrown (50).

ORGANIC SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS.--Fear of dogs (168).

INTELLECT.

Personal p.r.o.noun used in place of his own name. Inflection of verbs appears, but the infinitive is generally used for imperative; regular and irregular verbs begin to be distinguished (171). Desire expressed by infinitive. Numbering active; numerals confounded. Eight hundred and seventy-eighth day, nine-pins counted "one, one, one," etc. (172).

Questioning increases; "too much" is confounded with "too little." Yet memory gains (173). Sounds of animals well remembered. Slow progress in articulation (174).

_Feeling of Self._--Personal p.r.o.noun in place of his own name; "me" but not yet "I" (202).

THIRTIETH MONTH.

SENSES.

SIGHT.--_Discrimination of Colors._--One hundred and twenty-sixth, one hundred and twenty-seventh, and one hundred and twenty-eighth weeks, four trials with single color at a time; 75 right, 34 wrong. Eight hundred and ninety-eighth day, every color rightly named; some guessing on blue and green (16).

_Interpretation of what is seen._--Persistent desire daily to "write"

locomotives (66).

HEARING.--While eating, by chance puts hand to ear while kettle of boiling water stood before him; notices diminution in force of sound (88).

WILL.

_Instinctive Movements._--Mounting a staircase without help; ten days later with hands free (280, 281).

INTELLECT.

_Speech._--Independent activity of thought. When language fails, he considers well (174). Deliberation without words; concepts formed.

Intellectual advance shown in first intentional use of language (175).

Only interrogative word is still "Where?" "I" does not appear, but "me"

is used. Sentences independently applied (176). More frequent use of the plural in nouns; of the article; of the strong inflection; auxiliaries omitted or misemployed. Twofold way of learning correct p.r.o.nunciation (177). Memory for words denoting objects good; right and left confounded (178).

THIRTY-FIRST MONTH.

SENSES.

SIGHT.--_Discrimination of Colors._--Nine hundred and thirty-fourth day, child says he can not tell green and blue. Green mostly called gray; blue, violet (17).

FEELING.--_Sensibility to Temperature._--Child laughs joyously in cold bath (115).

WILL.

Weakness of will shown by ceasing to eat when told that he has had enough (344).

INTELLECT.

_Speech._--Onomatopoeia: imitation of locomotive-whistle (91). Two new questions. Indefinite article more frequent. Individual formations of words, as comparative of "high"; "key-watch." Confounding of "to-day"

and "yesterday" (178). Forming of sentences imperfect. Reporting of faults. Calls things "stupid" when he is vexed by them. Changes occupation frequently. Imitation less frequent. Singing in sleep. "Sch"

not yet p.r.o.nounced (179).

_Feeling of Self._--Causing change in objects, pouring water into and out of vessels (193). Laughing at image of self in mirror (201).

THIRTY-SECOND MONTH.

SENSES.

SIGHT.--_Discrimination of Colors._--One hundred and thirty-eighth and a few previous weeks, six trials, child taking colors and naming them; right 119, wrong, 38 (16, 17). Green and blue called "nothing at all."

Unknown colors named green; leaves of roses called "nothing," as are whitish colors. One hundred and thirty-eighth and one hundred and thirty-ninth weeks, three trials; right, 93, wrong, 39 (17, 18). Green begins to be rightly named, blue less often (18).

INTELLECT.

_Speech._--"I" begins to displace the name of child. Sentence correctly applied. Clauses formed. Particle separated in compound verbs. Longer names and sentences distinctly spoken, but the influence of dialect appears (180). Memory improved, but fastidious; good for what is interesting and intelligible to child (181).

_Feeling of Self._--Fourfold designation of self (202).

THIRTY-THIRD MONTH.

SENSES.

SIGHT.--_Discrimination of Colors._--One hundred and thirty-ninth, one hundred and forty-first, and one hundred and forty-sixth weeks, took colors of his own accord and named them; result of three trials, 66 right, 19 wrong (18).

ORGANIC SENSATIONS AND EMOTIONS.--Fear of even smallest dog (168).

INTELLECT.

Understanding that violations of well-known precepts have unpleasant consequences (21).