And so we are told that the spectacle of the young infant suspending its weight while holding on to some object, and the early instincts so commonly shown to climb ladders, trees, or anything else available, are but racial mementos of our ancestral forest life. The hide and seek games, the desires to convert a blanket into a tent, the instinct for "shanties"--which all boys universally manifest--we are told that these forms of play are but the echo of remote ages when our ancestors sojourned in caves, lived in tents, or dwelt in the mountain fastness. In this same way the advocates of this theory seek to explain the strange and early drawings which the young lad has for wading, swimming, fishing, boating, and other forms of aquatic recreation.[C] In this chapter we purpose to discuss the play of the child, whose career we will divide, for convenience, into three stages: 1. The age from three to six--juvenile days. 2. The age from six to twelve--the "going to school" child. 3. The age from twelve to twenty--the adolescent youth. [C] William S. Sadler, _Worry and Nervousness_, p. 377. JUVENILE PLAY DAYS As nearly as is possible the little child should be out of doors the greater part of his waking hours: To our mind it is nothing short of criminal to keep the little folks in the house when the weather permits outdoor life. Of the outdoor games which we have to suggest, perhaps the sand pile stands at the head of the list. Clean white sand should be placed in an inclosure just low enough for the child to climb over. Many, many happy hours may be spent in this sand pile, at the same time the little fellow is in his own yard and the watchful mother knows the drift of the conversations which take place. In a previous chapter we called attention to the fact that the little girls' frocks should be provided with knickerbockers, so that she may run and jump, or sit as comfortable as the little boy, without a conscious reproof ever ringing in her ears, "Mary, do keep your dress down." OUTDOOR PLAY Tree climbing is another source of enjoyment to these little people and they should early be taught how to climb. Instead of suggesting fear to the child let the mother go into the yard and talk with her something like this: "Now, Mary, put your foot in that fork, now catch hold of that upper limb, hold on tight, you will get there yet;" instead of the following conversation, which all of our readers have heard: "John, do take care or you will fall and break your neck; be careful, you will fall. There, I knew you'd fall!" etc. Both mothers are trying to accomplish the same thing--one mother suggests "fore-thought," while the second mother thoughtlessly suggests "fear-thought."