Child Who Cannot Concentrate

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 169, 4 August 1937, Page 8

Child Who Cannot Concentrate

Dealing with Problem

T ACK of concentration is one of the greatest obstacles in the way of the teacher or parent who aims at developing to the best ends the character of a boy or girl. How often in the school report appears.the significant note: "So-and-so should do well, if only able to employ greater powers of concentration." Equally how often do all attempts to encourage such powers prove ineffectual. The trouble is, of course, as much a physical matter as a mental one. During the transitional years, energy is being directed in so many ways that the child finds his forces scattered and difficult *to control. The growing body and brain make demands that are all against concentration on any one subject. Daily the world opens^out new possibilities of interest; daily the temptation to digress and pursue them grows more irresistible. No wonder parents and guardians are puzzled to know how to solve the problem. In the case of the child who betrays notable lack of concentration, is it important that the s'chool teaching should be of the very best and most eniightened? It should be of a kind that gives instruction in the most digestible form. It must set out to engage the whole attention and interest apd to render the acquisition of knowledge so attractive that the child turns to it in order to satisfy the intellectual hunger that has been aroused. If a child be naturally disinclined at various stages of his career to concentrate on work, pastimes, current events, and so forth, an effort should be made to discover wherein his deepest interests lie, and to plan the school curriculum, so far as possible, to meet the needs. It is possible that the boy or girl may be taking too many subjects, and that a smaller number of different classes might, by allowing more time for each, tend to encourage concentration. There are minds which need to focus on a limited range, rather than spread over a wide one and, when this limitation has been enforced, will display powers that hitherto have wilted through dissipation of energy. A sense of purpose in llfe is a great incentive to concentration in children and grown-ups alike. If instilled at an early age, it should prove the greatest aid in developing the power. Dressing the Dresser. In the maidless home it is graduahy be coming usual to take informal meals in the kitchen, or, as it is more elegantly termed, the kitchen-dining-room. The clever housewife resorts to various small decorative ruses in order that the appearance of the room as a whole shall not detract from the pleasure of the repasts. One method takes the form of handworktd, washable trimmings for the dresser. They are usually made of linen crash, which has the merits of costing little, laundering easily, and wearing well. For the shelves there are cut-out scalloped strips of the crash about five inches in depth. The scalloped edges can either be bound with gaily coloured braid ^ or finished with a deep blanketstitching in washable embroidery cotton. In the centre of each scallop a little flower-posy or a fruit spray can be embroidered in cotton or wool. To' run along the dresser top there should be another embroidered strip. The trimmings will glve the fitment the appearance of a sideboard and will serve also to show up the china and glass placed on it. If, however, you are too busy to tmdertake the. embroidery, use bold checked gingham, striped cotton, or fancy Ameri-

can cloth— the spotted ones are delightfuL Have window curtains to match and cover the chair seats with the same material. ,See that all details correspond, and the kitchen-dining-room will be fit for the reception of your most honoured guests. Wardrobe Budget. • "We had to leam to make a sMTHng do the work of eighteen pence but our daughters will not." "This accusation is often made against girls who, earning their own living, think they have the right to spend their money exactly as they like. It is true that fpigal mothers have frequently to look on while salaries are expended in ways which seem to them sadly wasteful. The fact is that everyone should leam to biidget, income and few young people are capable of making a good job of it without some supervision. Guidance, patience, and perhaps a little praise are needed before real success can be achieved. One wise mother put her three daughters on dress allowances before they began to earn for themselves, and, promised a small prize . to the one who appeared to her to spend the money to the best advantage, This brought about a spirit of good-humoured rivalry and at the same time made it apparent that keen ohservation and serious thought must be given to the matter. In these days of cheap and attractive clothing there is a great temptation to over-buy. New garments and hats are purchased thoughtlessly, and old ones thrown away before they have given full service. Fresh accessories have to be bought to go with the new frocks' and the wardrobe grows full of only halfwom clothing. The girl who "knows the ropes" makes careful plans each season to ensure that aE ordiiiary needs will be met, and afterwards the circumstances that lead to extra buying.are exceptional.