training in application, self-control, and decision, quite distinct
from its contribution to knowledge or skill.

Two or three generations ago no thought whatever was given to the
child's point of view; the authority of parents was absolute, and
there were many unhappy childhoods. To-day we wish to avoid these
errors, and by studying the child we hope to adjust our treatment to
his nature and his needs.

But we must be on our guard against the danger of going to the
extreme of attributing to the child ideas and instincts which he
does not possess. In former times it was considered one of the
mother's chief duties to "break the child's will"; to-day, realizing
the importance of a strong will, we are in danger of assuming that a
child's stubbornness or wilfulness is a manifestation of a strong
will, and we hesitate to interfere with it.

This is an entirely false assumption. In the first place, a child up
to the age of about three years has no will; he can only have strong
desires or impulses, or pet aversions. During this period the
mother's will must be his will, and there can be no clash of wills.
But, to be his will, the mother must guide the child in accordance
with _his_ needs, _his_ instincts,--that is, in accordance
with his nature, and not in accordance with her convenience or
caprice. She must bear constantly in mind that the child is not
merely a miniature man or woman, but that each stage in his
development represents a distinct combination of instincts, impulses
and capacities. If, for example, your little girl is digging in the
dirt--a very _natural_ and healthful activity--and you stop her
for no better reason than that she will soil her hands or clothes,