I have been asked many times how parents can discover their child's talents, and I have answered: by quiet observation. Leave the little one to his inclinations. Beware of thinking that you will make him what you want; think rather of how he is and what he is.. Set aside the displeased eye and the stern com-mands, and put in their place a quiet observation, as though this child were the son of other people.

I once told a mother that her boy had delivered me a lecture on the science of insects, and how he had a collection of beetles about which he had read a great deal. She asked me, "And how could you let him bother you so?" I said: yes, it was a bother, but a necessary one, for the child must find someone to share his pleasure if it is to stay alive.. And I watched that boy through his secondary studies, and there he was, shining as a clever member of the entomology club.

A famous author once wrote to me: "You were the inspiration of my childhood." And all I ever did for him was to accept the pieces he wrote. I offered him no advice, nor did I hamper his early produc-tion with a single word — there was time enough for that; what he needed then was encouragement.

The best time to observe the little ones is when they are far from observation: during play, on their outings in the open country, at their own parties, in the hours of ordinary home life. Here talents come out unselfishly. And I believe that children's joining scout troops, or any other school organizations, ought to please parents as much as their earning high school marks pleases them;

for these many fields of activity give their precious talents the opportunity to appear.

Most mothers have found that the best time for listening to the little ones is before sleep, because they then become most eager that others should share the hopes and imaginings and dreams that leap up from within their hearts. And the wise parents observe in silence, and help in silence.

The little one's wish may be the stringing together of words, or the piling up of stones, or the pulling down of a house to search for a secret in the chimney. Whatever this wish may be, listen, and let it develop.

It is hard to learn to listen — even to your own child; but the magic of the game is worth the effort.