Citizen's Bookshelf
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Prof. C.N. Allen '24 of the Psychology Department, who suggests the following publications about Childhood and Adolescence, began his work in this field with his doctoral thesis in 1931 on a phase of infancy. He has acted as consultant for the N. H. Department of Public Welfare, Catholic Charities, schools and individuals. He has two children.
Many books, the trees in this complex forest, disappoint parents who seek help; they offend by being too highly specialized or too text-bookish. I shall try to select from the embarrassment of riches a few of the most recent books, basing my choice on my experiences when talking to parents at PTA and other groups. When you come to Hanover again, you'll find a catalog-file drawer almost filled with cards under "Child Study" and almost 100 more under "Adolescence."
The foundation for reading in this field is regular possession of one good magazine; my choice would be Parents' Magazine (newsstands). The April issue had a good discussion of sex education. More specialized but highly respected is Understanding the Child (Boston, Natl Comm. Mental Hygiene), an inexpensive quarterly.
Next, I'd write for lists of available titles to any or all of the following; these pamphlets may contain the answers you seek in useful form where books may have more than some parents want, and they are very inexpensive.
1. Science Research Associates (228 S. Wabash, Chicago 4) publishes two series: (a) Better Living Booklets (children's problems, reading, emotional maturity, sex, etc.), and Life Adjustment Booklets ('teenage problems such as college, vocations, marriage and sex, social development).
2. Child Study Association of America (132 East 74 St., New York City) is wellknown. For example, How To Give YourChild A Good Start, by A. B. Auerbach.
3. Public Affairs Committee (30 Rockefeller Plaza, N.Y. City 20) covers a wide range, including many titles outside this field (social and political problems). Example: Enjoy Your Child Ages 1, 2, & 3.
4. U. S. Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C.) offers many good titles, especially through the Children's Bureau. For example, A Healthy Personality forYour Child, by J. L. Hymes (1952).
Books are another matter. See before you buy. Most of the titles I list might well be on the shelves of any good public library. I suggest you secure the cooperation of your local PTA to recommend purchase of some of these recent books by your library for community use. Your PTA might like to organize a program around this idea, and in that case I suggest you start with a 16 mm. film, Life with Junior (March of Time Forum Films, 1949; 18 minutes) which describes the characteristic problems of a 10-year-old: refusal to eat, jealousy, need for affection, socialization.
Three of the newest books top my list, each for different approaches. OUR CHILDRENTODAY (Viking, 1952) is edited by a well-known writer, S. M. Gruenberg; it is a symposium, revising the data of 20 years ago, with good bibliography. YOURCHILD AND HIS PROBLEMS (Little, Brown, 1953) by J. D. Teicher, is brand new. It stresses the child's need for "tender love," and will reassure those who look back at mistakes and seek to form a better relationship with children. EXPLORING THE CHILD'S WORLD, by H. Parkhurst (Apple ton-Century-Crofts, 1951) samples child thought on such problems as punishment-discipline, stealing and lying, worry, sex, conscience, the rights of a child, as revealed in a successful radio show.
The contrast in offerings is shown in these titles: CHILD PSYCHOLOGY, by G. G. Thompson (Houghton Mifflin, 1952) tries to give a systematic-scientific, standard reference to the research and theory of development; extensive bibliography. CHILDREN, FROM SEED TO SAPLINGS, by M. M. Reynolds (McGrawHill, 2d ed., 1951) is written by a mother who tries to correlate the changing thought about children since 1940 with her own experiences.
There are several attractive books on adolescence, of which the following five are recent examples. First two textbooks: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADOLESCENCE, by J. E. Horrocks (Houghton Mifflin, 1951) and the same title by K. C. Garrison (Prentice-Hall, 4th ed., 1951). UNDERSTANDING YOUR SON'S ADOLESCENCE, by J. R. Gallagher (Little, Brown, 1951) is obviously limited in scope; THE ADOLESCENT, by M. F. Farnham (Harper, 1951) offers a program for meeting the needs of 'teen-agers; and ADOLESCENCE, by M. Malm & O. G. Jamison (Mc-Graw-Hill, 1952) is to help parents understand the needs of an adolescent and to show how those needs may be met.
To these, I'd like to add four more titles; each will appeal for quite different reasons. THE FIRST TWO DECADES OF LIFE, by F. K. & R. V. Merry (Harper, 1950) expands their successful 1940 text, with more on the relation of physical growth to behavior and accenting socio-economic factors. FATHERS ARE PARENTS, TOO is a constructive guide to successful fatherhood and, as such, fills one of the most neglected needs of the total problem. It is by O. S. English & R. R. Doorbar (Putnam, 1951). No arguments are more heated than those over when and how to discipline a child. Ask your library to buy this important book: THE DISCIPLINE OF WELLADJUSTED CHILDREN, by G. Langdon & I. W. Stout (Day, 1952). It will help you understand the growing emphasis on the concept of "permissiveness" advocated by many child psychologists and psychiatrists. Also a good bibliography. TEACHINGYOUR CHILD TO TALK, by C. Van Riper (Harper, 1950) is for the very large group of parents who ask for a non-tech-nical guide through the jungle of this highly specialized area.
