The Origin of the Child's Instincts — Are They Important for Growth?

Parents seldom understand their children's instincts and the way one must know how to deal with these instincts, which are created with the child without any knowledge or preparation for their existence; and the child, likewise, is ignorant of their results, whether good or bad. I think it is the duty of each of the parents to know something of psychology, especially what concerns children at their various ages, for psychology helps the mother in how to treat her child and train him in good habits by the use of modern scientific methods.

Instinct is the power to do a thing without any teaching, training, or prior knowledge. Instincts are not always limited or particular, but general. If we take, for example, the instinct of play, we find that all children play without any training, yet each group of children plays in a way different from the others.

If we observe a child at birth, we find that he begins by nursing; when he grows a little, he grasps toys in his hand and puts them in his mouth; then he becomes able to sit by himself; after that he crawls upon the floor, and then he walks. And when he begins to talk, he then approves what pleases him and dislikes what does not please him, and is shy before strangers; after that he begins to play and to ask about whatever he notices and handles, until he obtains an explanation of these things which he sees for the first time in his life. All these instincts begin in childhood naturally, without any training or teaching.

Here we may divide the child's instincts, according to their origin, into six kinds:

1 — The instinct of fear: The instinct of fear in the child has no connection with present-day civilized life; it goes back to the ancient ages, when man lived in caves and trees, unprotected from the beasts of prey. The child feared the darkness, and the enemy among the beasts of prey, and the great teeth and the great mouth. All these things that frighten the child go back to the ancient ages; and this instinct is hereditary, passing from one generation to another.

2 — The instinct of love of contention and quarrels: Games are the one thing the child uses to give play to this instinct and carry it out. We notice children during their play dividing into two teams, each team against the other; then they take sides, each boy belonging to a party. This instinct teaches the child self-control and how to conduct himself in his relations with others.

3 — Love of exploration: This instinct is perhaps among the most important that parents and teachers must attend to, and it can be used in many ways to guide the child in a right and complete direction. We all notice what the rate is of the questions a child asks in a day, whether at home, in the street, or at school. Here it is good for the child to know about everything he sees, handles, and comes in contact with. Therefore the mother must answer her child's questions, however many they are, for in that lies a widening of the horizon of his thinking, and his natural growth in life. And I ask you also to answer him and to explain to him the correct, clear answer, so that he may build his knowledge upon true and sound foundations.

4 — Acquisition and gain: From his earliest years the child begins to mark out certain things as his own property, and this instinct grows in the child as he grows up. And surely every mother notices how her children collect various objects, hide them in their pockets and their rooms, and guard them because they belong to them. When the mother comes upon these things, which in her eyes are trifles, she takes them and throws them away — and in doing so she has done her child the greatest of wrongs. Just as the mother feels that the furniture of the house belongs to her and takes care of it, so her child takes care of what belongs to him, for these things are to him more important than everything in the house. Hence the mother or the teacher must turn this instinct to account, directing the children to collect useful and instructive things, such as the various postage stamps, the kinds of flowers, pictures of the different countries, and other useful things. It is never permissible to make light of anything that concerns the child, or to neglect what has value in his eyes, for that wounds his feelings.

5 — Imitation: Among the instincts important for widening and improving the child's mind, it is a force for progress by means of which the child acquires the skill

and the diligence required. This instinct passes from one generation to the next, and each generation excels the one before in improvement and renewal by means of thought and new inventions. Here parents and the teacher must encourage the child to imitate what is useful of good morals and good habits, and must help him in developing the power of selection and judgment in what he imitates, so that his thoughts and habits are directed toward what is good and beautiful as he grows.

6 — Play: Children love play by their nature, without any leader or direction from the grown-ups; and play is the most important factor in the development of the child's body, mind, and thoughts, especially in the first years of his life. This instinct is among the most important paths for the child's cultivation on every side. We often find some mothers annoyed when they find their children spending the day at play in the house and the garden. And if the children have no toys to amuse them, they begin wrecking things about the house to get hold of something to play with; and here the mother punishes her child and beats him. The better way of dealing with this is to divert the children with playthings of their own, so that they may amuse themselves; and when they reach a fitting age, beautiful books are placed in their hands to give them a taste for reading. We often find some mothers complaining of their children to the teacher, saying: my boy spends the evening playing and does not care to study and prepare his lessons. Yes, play is an instinct, but study is not; rather it is your duty, Madam, and the duty of your children's teacher, to guide this child, to encourage him, and to teach him the benefits of school and why he is there — and in this way he will know the value of play and of study together.