The home: its work and influenceGilman, Charlotte Perkins
General
The home: its work and influence
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
Home
"A Governor's Child badly Hurt"--"will probably prove fatal," this was
a two-story drop over a staircase; and shows that it is not only in the
homes of the poor that these things happen. Another "Baby Burned"
follows--this poor little one was left strapped into its carriage, and
set fire to by an enterprising little brother.
"Tiny Singer Fell Dead" describes a five-year-old boy as singing a
selection from "Cavalleria Rusticana" as a means of entertaining a
party of young friends--and burst a blood-vessel in the brain. Then
there is a story of a grisly murder in which a tiny child testifies as
to seeing her father kill her mother; the child was not hurt--physically.
And then a bit of negative evidence quite striking in its way,
describing "The Mother of Twenty-five Children" and incidentally
stating "of these only three sons and four daughters are now living."
Seven out of twenty-five does not seem a large proportion to survive
the perils of the home.
These are a few, a very few, instances of extreme injury and death.
They are as nothing to the wide-spread similar facts we do not hear of;
and as less than nothing to the list of minor accidents to which little
children are constantly exposed in the shelter of the home. We bar our
windows and gate our stairs in some cases; but our principal reliance
is on an unending watchfulness and a system of rigid discipline.
"Children need constant care!" we maintain; and "A child must be taught
to mind instantly, for its own protection." A child is not a
self-acting poison or explosive. If he were in an absolutely safe place
he might be free for long, bright, blessed hours from the glaring
Argus-eyed watchfulness which is so intense an irritant. Convicts under
sentence of death are in their last hours kept under surveillance like
this, lest they take their own lives. Partly lest the child injure
himself among the many dangers of the home, and partly lest he injure
its frail and costly contents, he grows up under "constant watching."
If this is remitted, he "gets into mischief" very promptly. "Mischief"
is our broad term for the natural interaction of a child and a home.
The inquiry of the young mind, and the activity of the young body,
finding no proper provision made for them, inevitably fall foul of our
complicated utensils, furniture, and decorations, and what should be a
normal exercise becomes "mischief."
Our chapter of accidents here leads us to the great underlying field of
education. Say that the child lives to grow up, during these wholly
home-bound years; in spite of wrong clothing, wrong feeding, and the
many perils we fatuously call "incident to babyhood" (when they are
only incident to our lack of proper provision for babyhood). If he
battles through his infancy and early childhood successfully, what has
he gained from his early environment in education? What are the main
facts of life, as impressed upon every growing child by his home
surroundings?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account