Children's ways : being selections from the author's "Studies of childhood," with some additional matter / James Sully.

  • James Sully
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Children's ways : being selections from the author's "Studies of childhood," with some additional matter / James Sully. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    game, yet even in its play the cat remains the cat, and the dog the dog. Such play-like transmutation of the self is some- times carried over longer periods. A child will play at being something for a whole day. For example, a boy of three and a half years would one day lead the life of a coal-heaver, another day that of a soldier, and so forth, and was rather particular in expecting his mother to remember which of his favourite char- acters he was adopting on this or that day. In a good deal of this play-action there is scarcely any adjustment of scene : the child of vigorous fancy plays out his part with imaginary surroundings. Children in their second year will act out a scene purely by means of pantomimic movements. Thus one little fellow not quite two years old would, when taken out in his perambulator, amuse himself by putting out his hand and pretending to catch “ little micies ” (mice), which make-believe little rodents he proceeded to cuddle and to stroke, winding up his play by throwing them away, or handing them over to his mother. In like manner he would pretend to feed chickens, taking imaginary food with one hand out of the other, and scattering it with an accompaniment of “Chuck! chuck! chuck!” This tendency of the little player to conjure up new surroundings, and to bring to his side desirable companions, is, I suspect, common among lonely children. One little fellow of four passed much of his time in journeyings to Edinburgh, “ London town, China and so forth in quest of his two little boys who roved about with their “ mamsey,’ a “ Mrs. Cock . They paid him visits when he was alone, always con-
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