What especially needs to be thought of in the development of any normal young life is the problem of rounding out the character on all sides. There are certain fundamental character-forming experiences and disciplines, such as work, play, recreation, and social intercourse. Many parents seem to be possessed of the idea that they can develop their children through play and social training alone. Others seem to believe that hard work and plenty of it is all that is necessary for the development of a substantial character in the young. Still others appear to allow their boys and girls to roam at will and to indulge them only in the recreative experiences. But how indefensible the idea that anyone should try to find permanent joy and satisfaction through recreative experiences without first having had as their counterpart the experience of work and the responsibilities that pertain thereto! So, again, it may be contended that there is a happy mean between the over-work and the absence of social experience so common in the farming communities and the lack of work and the extreme social excitement that so often obtains in the life of the city child. A SOCIAL RENAISSANCE IN THE COUNTRY There is becoming more and more apparent the necessity of not only a revival of the social life in the country, but also the demand for its reconstruction. It is especially to be desired that the reorganization be effected under the guidance of sound principles of psychology and sociology. That is, it must be based on the fundamental fact of the sex instinct so prominent during the adolescent period, and the further fact of the imperative demand at this time for a large amount of social intercourse. How differently this point of view persistently held will shape the matter as compared with the older ideal of merely "giving the young folks a good time"! Yes, the social life of adolescent boys and girls has its source in the sex instinct then so predominant. It is not therefore to be viewed as a piece of superficial sentimentality, but rather as a profound law of nature. As suggested by two or three of the preceding chapters, there may be organized a social center in the church, or other such centers may develop independently through the leadership of some mature persons. But instances of this class of effective organization are as yet few and far between. Meanwhile, the young are growing up and their present social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers cannot wait for neighborhood movements; and so the parents of the children requiring the social life must themselves take the initiative in the matter. CONDITIONS TO GUARD AGAINST