Children's Ways: Being selections from the author's "Studies of childhood," with some additional matterSully, James
Science
Children's Ways: Being selections from the author's "Studies of childhood," with some additional matter
Sully, James
Child development; Child psychology
Even a distant acquaintance with the first years of human life tells us
that young children have much in common with the lower animals. The
characteristic feelings and impulses are centred in self and the
satisfaction of its wants. What is better marked, for example, than the
boundless greed of the child, his keen desire to appropriate and enjoy
whatever presents itself, and to resent others' participation in such
enjoyment?
We note, further, that when later on he makes fuller acquaintance with
his social surroundings, his first attitude has in it much of the
hostility of the Ishmaelite. The removal of the feeding bottle before
full satisfaction has been attained is, as we know, the occasion for one
of the most impressive utterances of the baby's "will to live," and of
its resentment of all human checks to its native impulses. Here we have
the first rude germ of that opposition of will which makes the
Ishmaelite look on others as his foes.
The same attitude of isolating hostility is apt to show itself towards
other children. In the matter of toys, for example, the natural way of a
child is very frequently not only to make free with other children's
property when he has the chance, but to show the strongest objection to
any imitation of this freedom by others, sometimes indeed to display a
dog-in-the-manger spirit by refusing to lend what he himself does not
want.
The same vigorous egoism inspires the whole scale of childish envies and
jealousies, from those having to do with things of the appetite to those
which trouble themselves about the marks of others' good-will, such as
caresses and praises.
In this wide category of childish egoisms we seem to be near the level
of animal ways. Out of all this fierce pushing of desire whereby the
child comes into rude collision with others' wishes, there issue the
storms of young passion. The energy of these displays of wrath as the
imperious little will feels itself suddenly pulled up has in spite of
its comicality something impressive. We all know the shocking scene as
the boy Ishmaelite gives clearest and most emphatic utterance to his
will by hitting out with his arms, stamping and kicking, throwing things
down on the floor and breaking them, and accompanying this war-dance
with savage howlings and yellings. The outburst tends to concentrate
itself in a real attack on somebody. Sometimes this is the offender, as
when Darwin's boy at the age of two years and three months would throw
books, sticks, etc., at any one who offended him. But almost anybody or
anything will do as an object of attack. A child of four on having his
lordly purpose crossed would bang his chair, and then proceed to vent
his displeasure on his unoffending toy lion, banging him, jumping on
him, and, as anti-climax, threatening him with the loss of his dinner.
Hitting is in many cases improved upon by biting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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