Volume 1

Notes on the development of a child / by Milicent Washburn Shinn.

  • Milicent Shinn
Date:
[1908-1909]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Notes on the development of a child / by Milicent Washburn Shinn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    433/446 page 417
    f Shinn.] The Development of a Child. 41 7 5. The remarkable joy, pride, and physical exhilaration attend- ing the acquirement of some of these movements. This appears more or less in all records, though in several cases the pleasure was marred by timidity, which my niece never experienced to a painful extent. 6. The similarity, on the whole, in the manner of develop- ment of the movements in different children. On casual compari- son the variations are most striking; but on close examination of the records the only important difference seems to be that a move- ment is sometimes held back a long time, either by lack of oppor- tunity or lack of confidence, and is then executed suddenly, — a well- known occurrence in case of artificially delayed instincts, as when young birds are prevented from flying till beyond the usual time. For the rest, certain details of the process of development recur in the different records to a noticeable extent: as the wriggling or pull- ing forward before true creeping, and the involuntary backward creep- ing before the forward movement is mastered (p. 414); the pulling to the feet, first by some low object so that the body is still partly propped by the arms, then by a higher (p. 342, and also Mrs. Beatty’s note, p. 420), and later yet the rising from all fours. The postponement of standing alone till after walking, walking till after running, in the case of Prever’s boy, seem to be distortions of the usual order, due to deferring of the instinct, through timidity; and this timidity Preyer thought actually increased, to the delay of the development, through efforts to hasten walking and standing; and Mrs. Beatty had a similar impression with regard to her boy (p. 421). Some pedagogical conclusions are clearly indicated:— I. It seems evident that the infant should have by the second quarter-year the utmost freedom of limbs and opportunity of move- ment on the floor that is possible without exposure to cold or acci- dent. Any such exposure, however, is more serious than the restriction of muscular development: so that to avoid both evils may demand vigilant care. If the mother is so circumstanced that she can give this watchfulness, she should not grudge the trouble: it requires a kind of devotion not often to be expected from a servant. A year-old baby, for instance, may be allowed extensive
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