HANDICAPS OF
CHILDHOOD
By
H. ADDINGTON BRUCE
Author of "Psychology and Parenthood," "TheRiddle of Personality," etc.
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1921
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.
TO MY FATHER
JOHN BRUCE
IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF BOYHOOD
JOYS AND ADVANTAGES
PREFACE
It is my hope that this book will be read as a companion-volumeto "Psychology and Parenthood,"it being designed to amplify and supplement thatearlier work. Its general aim, accordingly, is topresent additional evidence in support of the centraldoctrine of "Psychology and Parenthood,"—namely,that, in view of the discoveries of modernpsychology with regard to individual development,the mental and moral training of children by theirparents ought to be begun earlier, and be carried onmore intensively, than is the rule at present. Butwhereas in "Psychology and Parenthood" the emphasiswas chiefly on the importance of early mentaltraining, the chief concern of the present book isto demonstrate the importance of early training inthe moral sphere.
Everybody, of course, is more or less aware thatlifelong character defects may result from parentalneglect to develop in children such qualities as unselfishness,self-confidence, and self-control. But fewreally appreciate that, by this neglect, children areburdened with handicaps which, persisting into adultlife, may imperil not alone the winning of successand happiness, but health itself. And, among parents,comparatively few are sufficiently alert to thedanger signals giving warning that such handicapsof perhaps catastrophic significance are being needlesslyimposed on their children. Eccentricities ofbehaviour in children—such as jealousy and sulkiness—aretoo often ignored as being of no particularaccount, or are sadly misinterpreted by parents,with perhaps dire consequences to the children'swhole careers.
These eccentricities and their possible consequences,these danger signals and handicaps, formin the main the subject-matter of the pages thatfollow. Desiring the book to be helpful to as many[vii]people as possible, I have been careful to avoid writingin any technical scientific way, and have tried tobe simple and concrete. For this reason many illustrativecases from real life are given, my belief beingthat I could thus present most convincingly the trulyremarkable facts with which the successive chaptershave to deal. The result, I sincerely trust, will beto contribute in some degree to save children fromthe handicaps in question, and to assist adults nowafflicted with any of these handicaps to overcomethem.
In large part, this book has already appeared inthe columns of several magazines. To the editorsof these magazines—The Century Magazine, GoodHousekeeping Magazine