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 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN 
 
 AND THE ONLY CHILD 
 
 IN THE FAMILY 
 
 BY 
 EUGENE W. BOHANNON 
 
 A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Clark University, Worcester, Mass., in 
 partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and 
 accepted on the recommendation of 
 
 G. STANLEY HALL. 
 
 Reprinted in part from the Pedagogical Seminary, Vols. IV. and V. 
 

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 httD://www.archive.ora/details/exceDtionalchildOOboharich 
 
EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN 
 
 AND THE ONLY CHILD 
 
 IN THE FAMILY 
 
 BY 
 EUGENE W.'bOHANNON 
 
 &%'• 
 
 A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Clark University, Worcester, Mass., in 
 partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and 
 accepted on the recommendation of 
 
 G. STANLEY HALL. 
 
 Reprinted in part from the Pedagogical Seminary, 18%, Vol. 4, and 1898, Vol. 5. 
 
 DULUTH 
 1912 
 
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EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND THE 
 ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 
 
 BY EUGENE W. BOHANNON 
 Sometime Fellow in Psychology, Clark University 
 
 Success in teaching depends largely on an intelligent 
 appreciation of the individual aspect of human life. The 
 truthfulness of this assertion is too obvious to require 
 justification. At the same time educational practice has 
 not been influenced sufficiently by the knowledge which a 
 better understanding of individuality will supply. The fol- 
 lowing study was undertaken with the desire of satisfying 
 a personal need and in the hope that some contribution 
 might be made to the knowledge of the conditions which 
 determine character. In the last analysis the problem in- 
 volves a consideration of the relative influence of the two 
 most general factors of biological existence, viz., heredity 
 and environment. It is believed that some of the conclusions 
 presented throw additional light on certain phases of the 
 relationship between these two factors. 
 
 The original material used was supplied almost ex- 
 clusively by a select body of students under competent 
 supervision and in response to two questionaires, one asking 
 ior information concerning Peculiar and Exceptional Chil- 
 dren and the other relating to the Only Child in a Family. 
 In response to the first a few over a thousand reports were 
 received, and to the second a few less than four hundred. 
 The following is the first syllabus: 
 
 I. Think over your own childhood and consider if you were 
 a striking illustration of any of the following types, and if so, 
 describe your case: 
 
 II. Consider if you have any friends who would come into 
 any of the classes below, and ask them to describe their own cases. 
 
 III. If you have children of your own; or if you are a 
 teacher, and any of your pupils, past or present, are strikingly 
 exceptional, describe them. 
 
 IV. If you are a college or normal instructor, explain very 
 fully what is wanted, and ask each pupil to describe one or more 
 such cases in a composition, essay, or a theme in psychology. 
 
 V. State the salient points concerning any exceptional children 
 you have ever read about, whether fact or fiction, referring to 
 the source if you can. 
 
 The following are types suggested to select from, but any 
 other will be welcome: 
 
 1. Physical. Exceptional beauty or ugliness; largeness or 
 smallness; any bodily deformity; conspicuous scars or traumatic 
 
 
4 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 lesions; defects of sense or limb, as dimness of vision or slightly 
 under normal hearing 1 , weakness of spine, legs or arms, etc.; 
 exceptional strength, agility, clumsiness or deftness, or gifts of 
 sense; any other marked physical peculiarity. 
 
 2. Psychical. A child of exceptional courage or timidity; 
 cleanliness or dirtiness; order or disorder; obedience or dis- 
 obedience, truth-telling or lying; cruelty or sympathy; selfishness 
 or generosity; loquacity or silence; frankness or secretiveness; 
 buoyancy or despondency; daintiness or gluttony; a blas6 or other- 
 wise spoiled child; a doubter, investigator, or critic; an ugly and 
 ill-tempered child; a careless, easy-going or a fastidious child; an 
 inquisitive, imaginative or poetic child; a teaser or hector; a 
 nervous child; a querulent, whining child; a dignified and self- 
 poised child, or one who acts habitually with self-abandon. 
 
 It is not a description of one or more of the above traits that 
 is wanted, but an accunt of one or more individual cases where 
 one trait or group of traits is so marked as to color the entire 
 character of the child, to be known to all who see much of it, to 
 therefore, bear on the child's future career. 
 
 Note in each case, if you can, whether the trait is hereditary; 
 in which parent, how far back it can be traced, and how marked 
 it was in the ancestry. To this point the greatest importance is 
 attached, and it should receive special attention. 
 
 Give, briefly, specific acts or instances of the manifestation 
 of this trait. 
 
 State how each case has been treated at home and in school, 
 and how you think it should be treated. 
 
 Always describe each case with the greatest conciseness and 
 with the greatest fidelity to fact. 
 
 Always state age, sex, nationality, complexion and 
 temperament. 
 
 The number of individuals described was 1,045, of whom 
 613 were females and 432 males. The number of types 
 represented in the reports was 43, and the average age of 
 the individuals referred to, below that of early manhood 
 or womanhood. The forty-three types were finally arranged 
 in three groups, the first including the individuals whose 
 peculiarities should be regarded as advantageous; the 
 second those whose peculiarities should be regarded as 
 disadvantageous; the third those whose peculiarities should 
 be regarded as neutral. 
 
 Those belonging to the group having peculiarities re- 
 garded as advantageous were the tall, heavy, strong, stout, 
 aerile, deft, beautiful, clean, generous, sympathetic, buoyant, 
 courageous, orderly, obedient and those having keen senses. 
 Those whose peculiarities have been regarded as dis- 
 advantageous were the small, deformed, ugly, nervous, 
 clumsy, bodily-weak, dirty, ill-tempered, timid, whining, 
 disorderly, disobedient, cruel, selfish, gluttonous, spoiled, and 
 those with sense, mental or speech defects. The peculiar- 
 ities regarded as neutral in value were those characteristic 
 of the buffoon, the frank, loquacious, inquisitive, dignified, 
 silent, imaginative and dainty. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 
 
 In the study of the different types within any of the 
 three groups it was found desirable to consider smaller 
 groups in order to show similarity and contrast. Thus the 
 large, including the tall, heavy and stout, were very gen- 
 erally found to associate with, and to be dressed like, older 
 children in order to escape undue attention. The behavior 
 of others toward them was determined more by the con- 
 sideration of stature than of age. This attitude of others 
 and the association with older children resulted in pre- 
 mature development, at least in certain respects. On the 
 other hand the small, for a similar reason, associated with 
 younger children and were very generally dressed so as 
 to appear younger than they really were, while the attitude 
 of others toward them was determined more by their stature 
 and less by age than should have been the case. The 
 inevitable result was retarded development, at least retarded 
 mental and social development. Too much was expected 
 or required of the large and too little of the small. 
 
 The strong were generally leaders and enjoyed a 
 liberal measure of approval while the weak were often 
 timid and disposed to behave in a manner intended to protect 
 them against the attention resulting from the peculiarity. 
 The agile and the deft, like the strong, received more than 
 the usual degree of favorable regard though they were not 
 so often leaders. The clumsy reacted to the attention 
 bestowed upon them in much the same manner as the weak. 
 The beautiful were noticed to a marked degree and supplied 
 the best example of the injurious effects of an excess of 
 approbative attention. The ugly and the deformed also 
 were noticed unduly and the consequences were unfavor- 
 able, but for a different reason. The undue attention ac- 
 corded the beautiful most often resulted in exaggerated and 
 unwarranted self esteem ; that given the ugly and deformed 
 quite as often resulted in discouragement and self- 
 depreciation. 
 
 Special ability in the realm of the senses or unusual 
 mental capacity was generally conducive to approbation 
 which had the effect of developing conceit and priggish 
 self-importance. Some of the reports of such individuals 
 were suggestive of an approximation to an abnormal, if 
 not a pathological, condition. The lack of ordinary ability 
 in these respects, or the presence of some defect in speech, 
 sometimes had the effect of causing the individual to shun 
 society. Such cases show the need for special treatment 
 and instruction, of a kind which the ordinary public school 
 is not able to supply. 
 
EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 The nervous child, so-called, very often had delicate 
 health and an unstable constitution, not infrequently supply- 
 ing an example of mal nutrition. They were not unlikely 
 to be timid, sensitive, changeable, meddlesome and, occasion- 
 ally, untruthful. These characteristics were undoubtedly 
 due, in part, to a lack of self-control. The clean and the 
 dainty were very much alike and had many traits in common 
 with the orderly and obedient. They were characterized 
 as orderly, obedient, truthful, slow, fussy and critical. 
 They were not seldom delicate, quiet and dignified and lack- 
 ing in bodily vigor. The silent and the dignified were quite 
 similar, the one to the other and to the clean and the dainty. 
 They were described as clean, neat, orderly, obedient, timid 
 and particular. Timidity and silence were often mistaken 
 for dignity. The children of this type showed a marked 
 preference for companionship with older persons. The 
 orderly and the obedient had much in common with the 
 clean and the dainty, as has been indicated. Those who 
 were orderly were clean, slow, patient, punctual, truthful; 
 the obedient were characterized in like manner and, not 
 infrequently, as timid. The dirty, the disorderly and the 
 disobedient are kindred types. Individuals of each were 
 reported as destructive or boisterous or violent in temper 
 and not lacking in vigor and energy. The ill-tempered were 
 often peevish, discontented, nervous, delicate, lacking in 
 balance, self-control and stability. 
 
 The frank, the loquacious and the inquisitive were found 
 to have many characteristics in common. Members of each 
 group exhibited a certain lack of self-control and of the 
 power of inhibition. The loquacious were frequently nerv- 
 ous, restless, conceited, forward and spoiled, while the in- 
 quisitive were often merely restless and curious. 
 
 The courageous were generally strong and healthy. 
 They were often quiet and reserved as well as obedient 
 and generous. They were admired and often became leaders. 
 Th) timid, on the other hand, were frequently frail and 
 nervous. In some cases the peculiarity appeared to have 
 been the result, either directly or indirectly, of some har- 
 rowing experience or of having heard ghost stories. 
 Obviously there was a physical basis in many instances for 
 the peculiarity. 
 
 Both the buoyant and teasing possessed abundant 
 energy. The first were more inclined to be generous and 
 sympathetic ; the second were sometimes cruel. The buffoons 
 were exuberant, easy-going and often generous. They 
 usually received and enjoyed favorable notice. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 7 
 
 Most of the cases of cruelty seemed to have their origin 
 in the exercise of power over weaker living things. It was 
 most frequently manifested towards small children, the 
 smaller and young animals and insects. In some instances 
 it appeared to be a consequence of having witnessed the 
 slaughter of animals; in others it was thought to be the 
 result of cruel physical punishment in the homes. It was 
 often associated with the habit of teasing and the two traits 
 appear to be closely allied. Selfishness also was often a 
 prominent characteristic of the cruel though it appeared to 
 be quite as much a resulting as a causal influence. The 
 cruel were often the gluttonous, the over-indulged, the 
 spoiled and sometimes the untruthful. They were especially 
 numerous in the group of the forty-six only children to be 
 referred to later. The individuals who were described as 
 generous were nearly always sympathetic and there is some 
 suggestion of a connection between these two qualities and 
 delicacy of constitution. Both the generous and sympathetic 
 were general favorites and were also frequently subjected 
 to impositions of various sorts. 
 
 Imaginativeness was mentioned in many of the reports 
 relating to the only child in a family and was frequently 
 ascribed to a lack of companionship, which resulted in the 
 creation of imaginary companionship. Some of the in- 
 dividuals seemed to indulge in the practice because of a 
 desire to expand the personality. There was some evidence 
 that the exercise of this power or interest is not unlikely 
 to result in the practice of deception and lying. Lying 
 was undoubtedly closely akin to it in many instances, at 
 least in certain of its forms. However, it was associated, in 
 many cases, with other qualities, such as selfishness, timidity, 
 weakness and imitativeness. 
 
 In the general consideration of the various types it 
 was found that over 60 per cent of the individuals in the 
 group designated as advantageous were reported as in- 
 heriting the peculiarity, about 10 per cent as not inheriting 
 and 24 per cent were not accounted for in that respect. 
 Of those classified as having disadvantageous peculiarities, 
 28 per cent were reported as inheriting, 45 per cent as not 
 inheriting and 33 per cent were not accounted for. Of the 
 neutral, 57 per cent were said to inherit and 17 per cent 
 not to inherit the peculiarity, while 39 per cent were not 
 accounted for. 
 
 A comparison of the percentages for these three groups 
 shows that inheritance appeared to be most influential in 
 determining advantageous peculiarities, somewhat less so 
 
8 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 in determining those of the group called neutral and least 
 in the case of the disadvantageous. The necessity for great 
 caution in basing conclusions with reference to heredity, on 
 these reports, is obvious. Yet, after making liberal allow- 
 ance for possible prejudice, lack of knowledge or careless- 
 ness on the part of those making the reports, the evidence 
 warrants the inference that the characteristics referred to 
 as advantageous are far more likely to be transmitted, in 
 their likeness, than are those of the opposite kind. This 
 conclusion harmonizes with the views of most of the best 
 students of human degeneration. The influence of heredity 
 is positive and in line with progressive evolution. The 
 hereditary factor is most prominent in those cases of trans- 
 mission which exhibit the greatest resemblance between 
 parent and offspring. A strong inheritance, the presence 
 of advantageous qualities in the parents, is the best 
 guarantee of likeness in the offspring. In transmission, 
 advantageous characteristics are more potent than the dis- 
 advantageous. 
 
 Fere 1 says : "If the degenerate fails to give origin to 
 beings that resemble him, it is not because he has acquired 
 the special faculty of transmitting characteristics that do 
 not belong to him, but because degeneration is the dissolu- 
 tion of heredity. * * * The want of resemblance in 
 descent observed in pathological and teratological families 
 evidences the want of embryo genie energy which is so 
 accentuated in those families as to end in sterility in a few 
 generations. * * * By degeneration Should be under- 
 stood the loss of the hereditary qualities that have determ- 
 ined and fixed the characteristics of the race. ,, 
 
 Disease and defect usually undergo modification in 
 transmission, following what has been called the law of 
 dissimilarity, while health and healthy peculiarities are not 
 subject to such marked variation and follow the law of 
 similarity in transmission. The movement of degeneration 
 is regressive; that of heredity, in normal individuals, is 
 progressive. Degeneration is the reversal of heredity and 
 ordinarily its extent is indicated by the degree of variation 
 from the ancestral type. Fay 2 found in his study of the 
 marriage of the deaf in America a higher percentage of 
 deaf offspring for the unions in which one parent was deaf 
 than in those for which both were so. He found also that 
 sterility was more common in the marriages with both 
 
 i Morbid Heredity, Popular Science Monthly, July, 1895, p. 396. 
 2 Marriage of the Deaf in America, American Annals of the 
 Deaf, Jan., Feb., April, June, 1896. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 9 
 
 parents deaf and that it was most prevalent when both 
 were congenitally deaf. Williams, 1 in his study of 590 
 marriages, with one or both partners deaf, found that 280 
 of these were barren of children; that 5Ko per cent of 
 the children born to the congenitally deaf fathers and ad- 
 ventitiously deaf mothers, 13 7 /io per cent of those born 
 to congenitally deaf mothers and adventitiously deaf fathers, 
 12%o per cent of those to congenitally deaf fathers and 
 hearing mothers, and 18 1 %oo per cent of those born to 
 congenitally deaf mothers and hearing fathers, were deaf. 
 These figures not only confirm the view that degenerative 
 influences weaken the power of heredity, but they also 
 appear to confirm the view that the mother is the more 
 influential factor in transmission, a conclusion suggested by 
 the analysis of the reports on which the present study is 
 based. 
 
 Sedgwick 2 says: "The fact that a larger number of 
 deaf children are, or appear to be, born to parents only 
 one of which is deaf than when both are, may be due to 
 excess having reversed the action of natural law in develop- 
 ment. ' ' 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact that still-births and early deaths 
 are abnormally common in such families, and it seems im- 
 possible to escape the conclusion that as degeneration pro- 
 gresses the potency of the factor of heredity is diminished, 
 and that, to that degree, the triumph of environment is 
 assured. It is not without significance, in this connection, 
 that the defects most likely to be transmitted in their like- 
 ness are those which are not incompatible with fairly or 
 quite normal health, such as supernumerary toes, fingers, 
 teeth, the plurality of births, color-blindness, hair-lip, squint, 
 premature baldness or prematurely gray hair. If these are 
 signs of the existence of degenerative tendencies, they are 
 but mildly so and do not indicate a condition sufficiently 
 grave to interfere seriously with the production of like by 
 like. 
 
 One of the most interesting results of the examination 
 of the reports on peculiar and exceptional children was the 
 discovery of the relatively large number of only children 
 among them. It was definitely stated in 46 cases that the 
 individual described was an only child, though none of the 
 questions in the syllabus referred to such a type. Since 
 
 1 Hereditary Deafness: A Study, Science, Vol. XVII, p. 76. 
 
 2 On Sexual Limitation in Hereditary Disease, British and 
 Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, London, Vol. XXVIII, p. 204. 
 
10 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 the number of reports was 1,045 and 46 of these referred 
 to only children one of every 22 was an only child. 
 
 AnsellV statistics for families in England and Wales 
 show that one in 78 of children generally is an only child, 
 and that one family in 13 is a one-child family. Perhaps 
 the percentage of such children and such families in more 
 recent years is quite a little higher but, that granted, it 
 is quite apparent that the degree of liability to peculiarity, 
 on the part of the only child, is out of all proportion to 
 the relative number of such children among all children. 
 Furthermore, it was found that two-thirds of the 46 only 
 children belonged to the types embraced in the group having 
 disadvantageous traits and that the health conditions of 
 the parents of these 46 were below normal. These facts 
 and suggestions, together with the fact that the reports on 
 peculiar and exceptional children furnished more material 
 relating to heredity, made it seem desirable to secure more 
 comprehensive information concerning the only-child class 
 which would at the same time bear more directly on the 
 determining influence of environment. With that thought 
 in mind the following list of questions was sent out, under 
 conditions similar to those mentioned in connection with 
 the questionaire on peculiar and exceptional children: 
 
 Give age, sex, nationality, and describe the temperament, com- 
 plexion and general health of the child briefly. Has he brothers 
 and sisters dead? If so, how many? Is he the first born? How 
 long did the others live? Does the child go to school? Regularly? 
 Commenced at what age? Get along well with other children and 
 in work? How much time does he spend in play? The favorite 
 games? What plays at home? What are the child's best traits? 
 Worst traits? Is he precocious or dull? Has he mental or 
 physical defects? Name them. What subjects best in? What 
 poorest in? What has been the home and school treatment? 
 What treatment do you recommend? 
 
 Age of parents at birth? How long had they been married 
 at birth of child? Are the parents still living? Health, habits, 
 occupations, temperament and position in life. How many brothers 
 and sisters had they? Do they (brothers and sisters) have good 
 health? In so far as above questions apply, describe twins, the 
 only boy, the only girl and the youngest child, in families. State 
 anything else you may think due to the fact that they are the 
 only child, only boy, only girl, the youngest child or twins. 
 
 The number of reports received in response to the ques- 
 tions was 435. This number combined with the 46 on only 
 children previously referred to, gives a total of 481 reports. 
 Of these 383 refer to only children, 54 to only boys or only 
 girls, 32 to the youngest child in a family and 12 to twins. 
 
 1 See Duncan's Sterility in Women, p. 4. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 1 1 
 
 The persons making the reports regarded as only children 
 not onty those who had never had brothers or sisters, but 
 those also who had been left alone by the early death of 
 others, or who were the only children for a period of 
 years, before the birth of others. In the case of the latter 
 the environment was quite like that of the only child, for 
 the dead brothers and sisters seldom lived more than a 
 year, nearly always dying in early infancy. Furthermore, 
 the surviving child was not the first born in more than half 
 of the instances. Several of the one-child families were so 
 because of divorce or the death of one parent. Any 
 statistical references that follow relate to only children 
 alone, unless otherwise indicated. 
 
 The average age of 134 girls was almost 13 ; of 86 boys, 
 somewhat less than 12, and for both the average was 12^ 
 years. The youngest was 2 and the oldest 35. Five were 
 3 years old, 6 were 4, 4 were 5, 10 were 6, 15 were 7, 24 
 were 8, 22 were 9, 32 were 10, 19 were 11, 26 were 12, 17 
 were 13, 21 were 14, 8 were 15, 24 were 16, 15 were 17, 
 15 were 18, 7 were 19, 7 were 20, 2 were 21, 3 were 22, and 
 1 was 31. The relative number of males and females was 
 about as 4 of the former to 5 of the latter. The reports 
 supplied information relating to the nationality or race of 
 the parents in 240 instances. It was stated in 190 cases 
 that the parents were Americans. The parents in the other 
 50 were non-American and in 17 instances the father and 
 mother belonged to different races or nationalities. 
 
 The more important and distinguishing peculiarities of 
 these children, including those relating to health, school, 
 home and social life generally, the interests and activities 
 revealed in play and games, together with the mental and 
 moral peculiarities, can be understood and appreciated much 
 better after a perusal of some of the reports of individual 
 cases. A number of the most typical have been condensed 
 and are presented herewith. In making the condensations 
 the original draft was modified as little as possible though 
 quotation marks were not used except in one or two 
 instances. 
 
 Male. Twelve years old. Irish. Sanguine. Health fairly 
 good, but must take care not to drink tea, coffee or other stim- 
 ulants. Neither can he eat much vegetable food without feeling 
 great discomfort. He is the first-born, but had a brother who 
 lived to be three and one-third years old. Began school at six 
 and attended regularly. He gets along with some of his friends 
 quite well but with others he disagrees. Spends much time in 
 play, which is active at school but quiet at home. He is truthful 
 and dislikes sham; also stubborn, and given to contradiction of 
 his elders. He is precocious. The right leg is paralized from the 
 
J 2 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 hip down. Both at home and at school he has been allowed too 
 much of his own way. The mother was about twenty-five, and the 
 father thirty-three, at the time of his birth. They had been 
 married two years, and are still living. The mother has good 
 health, the father only fair. Both have good habits and are 
 conscientious in the discharge of duty. The father is a railroad 
 station agent and the mother helps him in this work. He is of a 
 bilious temperament, while she is sanguine. The mother has 
 four sisters and two brothers, the father two brothers and two 
 sisters. All seem to have good health. 
 
 Male. Ten years old. German- American parentage. "The 
 father is a German of culture from a well known German Univer- 
 sity. The mother has. one brother living and one, who was very 
 delicate, dead. She is herself a chronic invalid and never, as a 
 girl, took any interest in life. She is cultured and refined but 
 lacks the will to do. Her only object now seems to be to properly 
 rear her boy, who was an unwelcome addition to the family and 
 for years was tolerated out of necessity. The mother-love seems 
 to have asserted itself finally. The boy attended kindergarten at 
 five, had a private tutor at six and entered the public school at 
 seven. He speaks German and French as well as English, and 
 also plays the piano well. Is a real girl-boy, sews, makes tiny 
 doll dresses, cuts and fits them, sews on sleeves and puts on belts. 
 He has whole sets of bed clothes, pillows and mattresses stuffed 
 with cotton, and the pillow cases made on the machine. He is a 
 sturdy, manly fellow, always taking his hat off as he enters the 
 room, speaking in a soft voice, and taking part in conversation. 
 He begged to be allowed to stay at home this week to help sew, 
 because I was helping his mother with her sewing. He does not 
 like school and seldom plays with boys; he says they are too rough 
 and fight, and are not nearly so nice to play with as girls. He 
 says boys tease him because he likes girls better, but that he does 
 not care. He seldom quarrels with his playmates and is good 
 and obedient generally. He is usually happy but sometimes be- 
 comes annoying by reason of the numerous questions he asks. He 
 has rather definite and advanced notions of what he is to be when 
 he grows up. The mother seems to admire and honor her very 
 intellectual German husband and is a model wife, but she does 
 not seem to have any love for any one save the boy. She was 
 never happy with her own mother and feels she was never under- 
 stood by her, hence she thinks it very important for her to avoid 
 the mistakes from which she suffered. The mother feels her 
 duty very strongly and is in danger of overdoing the watching, 
 and of making him too dependent on her own frail self. He is 
 very different from other boys I have met." 
 
 Female. Eleven years old. American. Nervous. Delicate, 
 takes cold easily, and cannot stand much hardship. She is the 
 only child born to her parents. She began school at seven and 
 attends regularly except when ill. She does not get along well 
 with other children, but succeeds fairly well in work. Not much 
 time spent in play, which is always of a quiet sort. Her best 
 traits are obedience and politeness; her worst is thinking herself 
 better than other children. She is neither dull nor precocious, yet 
 quite studious. The mother, especially, is very strict, but her 
 teachers have usually been more considerate. The mother was 
 thirty-five, and the father thirty-seven, at her birth. They had 
 been married five years, and are still living. The father has good 
 health, but the mother has always been delicate, and since the 
 birth of the child has been an invalid the greater part of the 
 time. The father is superintendent of a railroad. The family 
 occupies a good social position. Both parents are nervous. The 
 father has one half-sister, the mother, two brothers and two 
 sisters. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 13 
 
 Female. Twelve years old. American. Nervous. She has 
 very poor health and is sick a gTeat deal. She has three sisters and 
 one brother who died before her birth. Only one of these lived to 
 be five years old. She commenced school at seven, and but for 
 bad health her attendance would be regular. She has little or 
 no trouble with other children, and succeeds well in her work, 
 as she is very studious. She plays little and in a quiet way. Her 
 best traits are truthfulness, obedience and affection; the worst is 
 bashfulness. Precocity is very noticeable. The home treatment 
 has been characterized by great indulgence. The father has always 
 called her "Baby." At the birth of the child the ages of the 
 father and mother were thirty-six and thirty-four respectively. 
 They had been married 14 years. Their health is very good as 
 are also their habits. The father is a dairyman. The mother, 
 with hired help, keeps the house. They both have irritable 
 temperaments. The mother has four sisters and two brothers; the 
 father, five sisters and two brothers. Two of the mother's sisters 
 have bad health, and the father's brothers and one of his sisters 
 do not have good health. 
 
 Female. Nine years old. American. Nervous. Not robust, 
 takes cold easily, and seems unable to resist disease. Has never 
 had brothers or sisters. She began school at 7 but has not at- 
 tended regularly on account of bad health. Her relations with 
 other children are troublesome. Success in work is fair. She 
 plays a great deal and has much company. The games are usually 
 those demanding considerable activity. The best traits are truth- 
 fulness and affection; the worst are selfishness and passionate 
 temper. She is very precocious. Has been greatly indulged at 
 home, and is a favorite with the teacher. She ought to be required 
 to "give up" to other children. At the birth of this child the 
 father was twenty-seven and the mother twenty-eight. They had 
 been married two years. Both are still living, but the mother is 
 never in good health. Their habits are good; the father is a 
 partner in a general merchandise store. His temperament is 
 sanguine, and that of the mother, nervous. The mother has one 
 sister, and the father one brother. These have good health. The 
 child is an only grandchild, and is subjected to the combined in- 
 dulgence of grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. One of the grand- 
 mothers lives with the child's parents, and always intercedes when 
 any strictness is suggested. 
 
 Female. Eight years old. American. Nervous. Health is 
 quite poor. She is subject to severe headaches, and in the winter 
 time to bronchitis and croup. There have been no other children. 
 She first went to school when seven and has not attended at all 
 regularly. The desire to have her own way has prevented her 
 from getting along well with other children. In her work she 
 succeeds fairly well. When alone she plays little and generally 
 inclines to the imaginative games. She tries to impersonate dif- 
 ferent characters. She is sympathetic and affectionate, but also 
 selfish and disrespectful. She is also precocious. Parents have 
 humored her. Ought to be thrown with girls her own age. The 
 father was thirty-three, and the mother thirty-five, when she was 
 born. They had been married twelve years. They are still living, 
 but the father is subject to very severe attacks of rheumatism. The 
 temperament of the mother is nervous; that of the father bilious. 
 They live on a farm. The mother has two brothers and two 
 sisters; the father one sister and seven brothers, all of whom have 
 fairly good health. 
 
 Female. Nineteen years old. American. Nervous. General 
 health is good, but she is subject to a kind of "fits." There have 
 been no other children. School attendance is regular and began 
 at nine. Her success in work was good. She got along well with 
 other children, and in play her favorite pastime was to seat her- 
 self on a box and imagine herself a queen. At home she could 
 usually be found sewing for her dolls or playing with them. Her 
 
14 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 best trait was her good temper; her worst, lying and stealing. 
 Precocity was marked in action and words. There was a slight 
 turn in the left eye which was very noticeable at times. At home 
 she had her own way and was consequently frequently in need 
 of restraint at school. The mother's age at her birth was twenty. 
 She had been married over a year. The father is dead — died of 
 heart disease. He had one brother, while the mother had two 
 sisters. They seem to have good health. 
 
 Male. Fifteen years old. American. Phlegmatic. Seems to 
 have good health, yet the sight of blood always causes him to 
 faint. There were never any other children in the family. He 
 commenced going to school at nine and attended regularly, though 
 he does not now attend. He had little trouble with other children. 
 He seems to be affected mentally and does not progress very well 
 in school work. He is exceptionally dull. He spends considerable 
 time in play, and at home the play most often is imitative of the 
 various trades. The treatment, both at home and at school, seems 
 to have been considerate. His father was twenty-four, and his 
 mother twenty-one at the time of his birth. They had been mar- 
 ried about one year. They are both still living but are separated. 
 The father is delicate and a drunkard besides. Neither parent has 
 had brothers or sisters. 
 
 The above are fairly representative of almost 100 re- 
 ports. The health was generally described by use of the 
 three expressions, "good,'' "fairly good" and "bad." One 
 hundred sixty-two belonged to the first class, 98 to the 
 second and 96 to the last. That is, 96 had bad health and 
 98 others did not have good health. The disorders of 
 health most often mentioned were: lung trouble in ten 
 instances, heart trouble in five, St. Vitus Dance in five, 
 exaggerated cases of nervousness in ten, "very delicate" 
 in thirty and paralysis in one, while chronic susceptibility 
 to headaches, throat troubles, nose bleed, colds, indigestion, 
 catarrh, eye troubles and convulsions, were frequently 
 mentioned. 
 
 Still other evidences of impaired health were added 
 under the head of "physical defects." Ten were deformed. 
 Some of the deformities were : club-foot, weak legs, hunch 
 'back, spinal curvature and cross eyes. Fifteen had very 
 weak eyes, four were deaf in one or both ears, three blind 
 in one eye, five had grave disorders of the vocal organs, 
 one was hydrocephalus, and one a paralytic. Others were 
 "hair-lipped," "flat-footed," "pigeon-toed," "had one side 
 undeveloped." A total of forty-eight had physical defects 
 of one kind or another. 
 
 A great variety of terms was used in describing the 
 temperament, but it is sufficient to say that it was de- 
 scribed as "nervous" in 133 out of 258 cases, or something 
 oyer half of the number for whom the temperament is in- 
 dicated. No other expression descriptive of temperament 
 was used more than 42 times. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 15 
 
 In 80 of 249 families, for which the information was 
 available, there had been at least 120 other children, the 
 largest number in any one case being five, all of whom were 
 still-born. In 42 of these eighty families the surviving 
 child was not the first-born. Of the entire 120, 9 were still- 
 born, 20 lived only a few hours or days, 46 others less than 
 a year, 6 not more than a year, 3 not more than 2 years, 
 3 less than 4 years, 2 less than 5 years, 2 less than 6 years, 
 6 less than 7 years, 2 less than 9, and three died at ten, 
 twelve and fifteen years. It will hardly be claimed that 
 so large a proportion of the children of families in general 
 die at corresponding ages, and that the early deaths of so 
 many do not signify degenerative tendencies of a very 
 pronounced sort. Besides it must be remembered that the 
 120 deaths represented only such as were known to the 
 individuals making the reports. That there were others 
 cannot be doubted. Yet, with this num'ber, the proportion 
 of all the children born to the 249 families, who died at 
 the above mentioned ages, is 31 per cent, or ahout 320 per 
 1,000 for the years 1 to 9 inclusive. Nevertheless, in the 
 absence of other evidence, it cannot be asserted that the 
 rate is greater than the normal. 
 
 Thirty-two of the 242 fathers were dead, as were also 
 23 of the 248 mothers. The father's health was said to be 
 bad in 58 of 245 reports, and that of the mother so in 
 100 out of 239. It appears, therefore, that in so far as bad 
 health in either parent is a factor in the limitation of the 
 birth-rate, the mother is of far greater importance than the 
 father. Gross 1 presents statistics showing that women are 
 sterile about eight times as frequently as men. 
 
 Thirty-one parents among those of 249 families had 
 consumption, dying of it in most of the cases. Twenty-two 
 were so weak and delicate that they were called invalids, 
 18 suffered from nervous prostration, 8 had heart trouble, 
 5 were insane, while there were many reports of grave 
 female disorders and not a few of paralysis, rheumatism 
 and cancer. There were many other disorders of a serious 
 character mentioned at least one time each. The frequency 
 with which consumption and cancer were noted seems to 
 harmonize with the observations of many writers on the 
 subject of fecundity, that cancer and tubercular diseases 
 are especially conducive to sterility. 
 
 The temperament of parents was described as 
 "nervous" in 134 instances out of 249. Forty-three was 
 
 1 See Duncan's Sterility in Women, p. 3. 
 
16 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 the greatest number described by any other single expres- 
 sion. There were 37 cases, out of 226, in which one of the 
 parents was an only child. Seven of these were among 
 108 fathers of girls, and 9 among 76 fathers of boys, while 
 13 belonged to 120 mothers of girls and 5 to 76 mothers 
 of boys. The only-child parents of girls are more often 
 mothers than fathers, while the opposite is true for parents 
 of bo3 r s. There are 17 only-child fathers and 20 only-child 
 mothers. Whether this is a greater ratio than would be 
 found to prevail among parents generally cannot be de- 
 termined from the data available, though it seems that it 
 must be considerably greater since Ansell found that one 
 of every 78 children was an only-child. 
 
 The average number of brothers and sisters which both 
 the 209 fathers and 226 mothers had is 3%. Adding one 
 to this, we have 4% as the average number of children 
 for these families, or nearly two less than the average 
 which Ansell found for 1,767 families. The average number 
 of brothers and sisters of 108 fathers of girls is 3% and 
 of 120 mothers of girls is 3%, while that of 76 fathers 
 of boys was 2% and of 81 mothers of boys 3%. Thus 
 the mothers of girls came from smaller families than the 
 fathers. On the other hand the fathers of boys came from 
 smaller families than the mothers. 
 
 The health record of the brothers and sisters of the 
 parents, though not indicated in a very considerable number 
 of the reports, showed 30 consumptives, 5 insane, 4 cancer- 
 ous, many cases of heart trouble, several invalids, several 
 nervous and mental wrecks and numerous early deaths. 
 Although sufficient data for a comparative estimate is lack- 
 ing, it is difficult to avoid the inference that the health was 
 inferior to that of people generally. 
 
 The average age of fathers at the time of the birth of 
 149 girls was 32% years ; of the mothers of 157 girls it 
 was 26%, the two averages showing a disparity of about 
 6 years. The average age of fathers at the time of the birth 
 of 86 boys was 28 ; of the mothers of the same number of 
 boys it was 24% years, the average difference being 3% 
 years. The average age of the fathers at the time of the 
 birth of 235 of both sexes was 30.5 years and that of the 
 mothers of 242 of both sexes 25.5, the average disparity 
 being 5 years. It is perhaps significant that the mean age 
 of parents at birth of boys, 28 for fathers and 24% for 
 mothers, was noticeably lower than that of parents at birth 
 of girls, which was 32Yw for fathers and 26% for 
 mothers. Perhaps it tends to confirm the view that the 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 17 
 
 children born in the later stages of relative sterility are 
 more likely to be girls than those born in the earlier stages. 
 
 In 218 marriages the mean length of time that had 
 elapsed between marriage of parents and birth of the first 
 child was approximately 3.5 years. For 29 of these the 
 time between marriage and birth was one year, for 54 it 
 was 2 years, for 39 it was 3, for 14 it was 4, for 17 it was 5, 
 for 5 it was 6, for 10 it was 7, for 2 it was 8, for 3 it was 9, 
 for 5 it was 10, for 2 it was 11, for 6 it was 12, for 1 it was 
 13 and for 2 it was 14. Ansell 1 found in 6,035 marriages 
 that the first birth was within 1 year after marriage in 3,159 
 cases, within 2 years in 2,163, within 3 in 421, within 4 in 
 137, within 5 in 69, within 6 in 26, within 7 in 21, within 
 8 in 11, within 9 in 7, within 11 in 5, within 12 in 4, within 
 13 in 13, within 14 in 2. A comparison of these figures with 
 those given above for the 218 marriages will show the degree 
 of variation from the normal time that elapses between 
 marriage and the birth of the first child. For 106, or nearly 
 half of the 218, this time was 3 years or more, while at the 
 corresponding time for Ansell 's 6,035 marriages only about 
 one twenty-first part had not resulted in children. That 
 is, only 1 in 21 of the 6,035 couples had their first child 
 after 3 years, only 1 in 39 after 4 years. Duncan, in com- 
 menting on Ansell's table, states that parents who have 
 been married 16 months and are still childless, are exhibiting 
 signs of relative sterility, and that after the fourth year 
 has been entered upon without children there is a presump- 
 tion of persistent sterility. With this in mind the 
 significance of the fact that the average length of time 
 after marriage at which 190 first-child only children were 
 born was about 3% years, becomes apparent. 
 
 There were a number of very early marriages reported, 
 1 with the mother at 11 and several as early as 15. There 
 were also a number of marriages occurring near the end of 
 the reproductive period for one or both parents. It is 
 generally claimed that the best years for reproduction are 
 those from 24 to 35 for women and 30 to 40 for men. We 
 should infer, therefore, that children born to parents of 
 other ages will have poorer health as a rule, an inference 
 which ought to be employed in accounting for the poorer 
 health of so many of the children under consideration. 
 Apparently the strain of too early child-bearing often ex- 
 hausts the girl-mother's stock of vitality without producing 
 a healthy child and is likely to result in the early loss of 
 
 l See Duncan's Sterility in Women, p. 19. 
 
18 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 fecundity. While child-bearing near the end of the repro- 
 ductive period may not be so injurious to the mother's 
 health, it appears to be quite as unfortunate for the child. 
 Thus 12 of the 32 youngest children, their average age 
 being 11, had bad health. Of these 12, 2 had convulsions, 
 2 lung trouble, 1 kidney and eye trouble, while 4 were 
 weak and delicate. Mitchell 1 found among 433 idiots that 
 138 were first-born and 89 last-born. Duncan 2 is inclined 
 to think that the only child, especially if born near the end 
 of the reproductive period, is more likely to be a girl, and 
 to represent the last effort of the stock to perpetuate itself. 
 The greater average age of the parents of the girls in these 
 reports seems to confirm his view. In the same connection 
 he refers to Galton's study of 1,000 English heiresses, one- 
 fifth of whom had no male children at all, a third but one 
 child and three-fifths not more than two children. 
 
 The habits of the parents were said to be bad in 40 
 instances. There were 20 confirmed drunkards and many 
 drinkers, several of whom were mothers. Five fathers were 
 excessive smokers. The work of five mothers was thought 
 to be unfavorable to child-bearing. Five others were im- 
 moral. Over-fondness for society and late hours were 
 mentioned 8 times and there were 8 divorces reported. The 
 occupations were mainly sedentary and, therefore, in-door. 
 The families referred to were predominantly middle-class. 
 
 IN RELATION TO SCHOOL. 
 
 Female. Ten years old. American. Nervous. Has good 
 health, but the parents thought her sickly and were continually 
 giving her medicine. She is the last born of four children, three 
 of whom died in infancy. Her school attendance commenced at 
 four, but was very irregular until she was ten. If she disliked the 
 school she was allowed to stay at home for a while and then try 
 another. She gets along very well with other children and also 
 in school work. Not much time is spent in play, as most of the 
 time is taken up by music. When alone her favorite amusement 
 was with her dolls. Unselfishness and affection are the best traits, 
 while self-will and a bad temper are the worst ones. Precocity 
 is pronounced and she is always ready with an answer. She has 
 been allowed to do about as she pleased at home and has also 
 been favored at school. The father was twenty-seven, and the 
 mother twenty-five, at her birth. They had been married four 
 years. The father, who was a consumptive at the time of his 
 marriage, died when she was small. He had two sisters and the 
 mother one. These had good health. 
 
 Male. Fourteen years old. American. Very nervous. Not 
 healthy; had asthma till twelve but is better now. He is the 
 second-born of three children, one of whom was dead at birth. 
 The other lived three years. Commenced going to school at seven, 
 
 i See Duncan's Sterility in Women, p. 62. 
 2 Ibid, pp. 66, 67, 68, 69. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 19 
 
 but has not attended regularly. He does not do well in his work 
 or get along well with his play-mates. Much time Is spent in 
 plays which are usually those that boys most often enjoy. He is 
 generous. He is also deceitful. The treatment has been rather 
 
 re. The father was thirty-five and the mother thirty-two at 
 the time of his birth. They had been married three years. Both 
 are still living. The mother does not have good health, and is 
 club-footed. The father has good health, but is near-sighted. He 
 is an excessive smoker. The mother's character is not good. She 
 had two sisters and he had several half-brothers and sisters. All 
 of these seemed to have good health. 
 
 Male. Twenty-three years old. American. Equable. Has 
 very good health now, but when about 15 was afflicted with St. 
 Vitus dance. Has had no brothers or sisters. He attends school 
 regularly, having entered at seven. He did excellent school work, 
 but is indifferent towards other children. Instead of playing he 
 would sit in the Navy Yard and examine machinery. Seems to 
 have no bad traits. He has been indulged both at home and in 
 school. He has been too much under the influence of his mother, 
 and is very effeminate. At the time of his birth the father was 
 twenty-seven and the mother twenty. They had good health, 
 but the father is intemperate. The mother had two brothers and 
 two sisters; the father two sisters. These have good health. 
 
 Male. Seven and a half years old. American. Irritable. Is 
 not a very healthy child, but this is probably due to his not being 
 allowed to play out in the open air as much as other children. He 
 is the only child his parents have had. Until this fall he was 
 taught at home by his mother, but now attends the graded school. 
 His attendance is regular. The other children delight in teasing 
 him and he gets along better with the girls than with the boys. 
 He is very slow in his school work. His favorite games are those 
 that can be carried on in-doors, for which the real boys have 
 called him "the girl-boy." He is not talkative, but is sly and 
 willing to blame others for his own mis-doings. Is also selfish and 
 wants his own way in playing. He is not very bright and one 
 cannot help noticing the dreamy expression of his face. His home 
 treatment has made a baby of him, while the impartiality of school 
 life does not please him. The trouble rests with his parents. The 
 father was forty-three and the mother forty-one when he was 
 born. The former has one brother and one sister; the latter three 
 brothers and one sister. These seem to be in good health. The 
 father is deaf. 
 
 Male. Ten years old. American. Nervous. He has a bad 
 throat and is quite delicate. Is large for his age. He began 
 going to school shortly before he was six years old and attends 
 regularly when his health permits. If the other children do not 
 yield him his own way he will not play. He is quite bright in his 
 studies, but has to be encouraged very often. Active plays, and 
 those in which he can win, suit him best. He has many moods. 
 Sometimes he is pleasant, but more often very disagreeable. He 
 is deceitful and has a bad temper. He is quite precocious. The 
 vocal organs are defective and he stammers in his speech so that 
 it is difficult to understand him. It would be well if he had more 
 play-mates and were compelled to share with them. The ages of 
 his parents at the time of his birth were thirty-seven and thirty- 
 nine years. They had been married twelve years. They are in 
 good health. The mother had one sister and six brothers. 
 
 Sixteen of 272 who were of school age, did not attend 
 school, while 74 of those who did attend were very irregular. 
 Many were allowed to remain at home whenever they 
 wished, others were kept at home whenever the weather 
 was at all threatening and still others were allowed to attend 
 
20 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 first one school and then another. Quite a number had 
 private tutors at home and a yet larger number attended 
 private schools. Frequently they did not begin going to 
 school until several years later than the usual time for 
 children to enter. Two began at 3 years of age, 7 at 4, 
 36 at 5, 78 at 6, 81 at 7, 24 at 8, 8 at 9, 4 at 10, 2 at 11 
 and 2 at 13 and 14 respectively. The average age for 
 entering school was Vh years. Bearing in mind the fact 
 that kindergarten attendance was included it is apparent 
 that these children entered school between two and three 
 years later than is usual. This may have been due, in part, 
 to their poorer health, but it must be attributed mainly 
 to the unwillingness of parents to send them earlier. 
 Perhaps also, they were not so anxious to begin as those 
 having older brothers and sisters. It would seem, however, 
 that the only child should be more anxious than others 
 to start to school because of the promise of increased com- 
 panionship. Certainly they are more timid about making 
 the transition from the home life to that of the school. 
 
 The answers to inquiries concerning their interest and 
 progress in the different subjects of study pursued in school 
 yielded but little information. It was stated that 117 were 
 poorest in arithmetic and that 78 were best in the same 
 subject. No other subject was mentioned more than 41 
 times. 
 
 PLAY AND SOCIAL LIFE. 
 
 Female. Eight years old. American. "Self reliant, but es- 
 pecially sensitive to rebuke. Well developed physically and with- 
 out any defect except weak eyes. She had been accustomed to 
 play alone or with older persons. One morning, about two months 
 after she had entered the kindergarten, the children were taking 
 their seats as usual at the conclusion of the preliminary exercises. 
 M had taken pains to reserve a chair by her side. On notic- 
 ing the vacant chair, I told J to sit by M . Several of 
 
 the children said, 'But M will not let any one sit there. 
 
 She says it is for her friend.' After a moment's thought I re- 
 called that she had greeted me that morning with, 'Miss , 
 
 I have a little friend with me!' Seeing no child, I had supposed 
 the mother, who very often spent half the morning in the kinder- 
 garten, would bring the little friend later. I also remembered 
 that she had a vacant chair by her during the story in the circle. 
 I called her to me and asked her to tell me what she meant. She 
 said I had told them they might bring their little friends to 
 school and that she had brought hers. I told her I did not see 
 him and asked where he was. He was in the dressing room, she 
 replied. We went out to bring him in. On the way out she 
 talked all the time, explaining that it was a little boy friend with 
 whom she played at home. On reaching the dressing room she 
 ran to the other end of the room, pretended to take hold of a 
 child's hand, who was a little younger than herself, and led him 
 to me. I pretended to shake hands and asked his name. It was 
 
 J . We took off his wraps. We then led him into the school 
 
 room, M holding one hand and I the other. She pulled out 
 
 the reserved chair and seated the imaginary J . M 's 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 21 
 
 manner was very matter-of-fact. While she was seating her little 
 
 friend I told the others that M had brought a little play 
 
 child, a little make-believe boy, to spend the day with us; that he 
 was not even a doll dressed as a little boy and that we should 
 try to see what a happy time we could make them have. Some 
 of the faces expressed disapproval, others of them looked at her 
 as if there was something uncanny about her, while others 
 started to make fun of her. They were easily checked," and so 
 
 the imaginary J spent the day. He was given the same 
 
 material to work with, M doing his work as well as her own. 
 
 He played the games with us, M insisting that the children 
 
 take his hands in the game. She pretended to show him how 
 to hop like the birds, etc. She shared her lunch with him and, 
 when ready to go home, put his wraps on. Before she started I 
 
 called her in, telling her at the same time, to leave J in the 
 
 dressing room. Taking her on my lap I asked her if they had 
 had a happy day. She replied, with a bright face, that they had. 
 
 After telling her I was glad they had, I said, 'but, M , J ■ 
 
 is not a real boy, is he?' 'No,' she replied, 'but I play with him 
 at home.' I then tried to persuade her that she had to do so 
 much for him that she could not give any time to her real friends, 
 who were sorry, and asked her if it would not be better to leave 
 
 J at home. She replied, 'yes.' Her parents soon afterwards 
 
 told me she had several imaginary friends, but two special ones, 
 
 a little girl and a little boy, J . She spent so much time 
 
 with them that they were uneasy and had sent her to the kinder- 
 garten with the hope of having her forget them. They said she 
 usually announced the fact when she wished to take them out 
 with her, but that, on the occasion above alluded to, she had 
 failed to do so. Her happiest hours were spent in this way. She 
 continued to play with these imaginary companions at home, but 
 never again, in the four years that I had her, did she refer to 
 
 J . She was always ready to 'make up' a story about the 
 
 house she had built, etc. She was especially good at illustrating 
 stories that had been told to her, on the blackboard. 
 
 "She has a good healthy disposition in most respects, but is 
 mean and little about some things. She will share her lunch with 
 others very grudingly and hold on to old things long after they 
 are of no value. Her grandmother gave her, on her sixth birthday, 
 a 'companion,' containing pencils, paper, etc. She had been using 
 an old and worthless one which I had supposed she would throw 
 
 into the trash basket, but she gave it to A . Soon after I heard 
 
 her tell A that she would have to return it, as she had only 
 
 pretended to give it to her. I tried, by means of persuasion and 
 
 explanation, to have M understand that it was now no longer 
 
 hers, but observed at the close of the day that she took the 
 'companion' ' home with her. She said it was one she had had 
 for a long time and that she could not part with it. (Such 
 conduct was often excused by means of sentiment.) Another 
 time a penny belonging to one of the children was left on the 
 
 table. Some of the children saw M take it. She denied having 
 
 done so, but a prolonged conversation with her caused her to 
 find the penny. She said she thought it was hers. I never re- 
 garded her as untruthful or untrustworthy. She was certainly 
 fussy and over-particular." 
 
 Male. Seven years old. American. Nervous. Has bronchial 
 trouble. Has never had brother or sister. He entered school at 
 five and has attended regularly. He is backward with other 
 children, but succeeds fairly well in work. He spends much time 
 in play, at school, playing much the same games as other children. 
 He is selfish, yet obedient. He is also precocious. The home 
 treatment has been good. The mother was twenty and the father 
 twenty-two at his birth. They both had good health. The father 
 has three sisters and one brother, the mother six sisters. 
 
 Female. Nineteen years old. American. Sympathetic tem- 
 perament. Health usually very good. I had an older sister who 
 
22 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 lived a little more than three years. Entered school when about 
 eight, and have attended regularly. I never got along very well 
 with a number of girls, but generally wanted just one friend to 
 be with most of the time, and even yet I would rather go with 
 just the one. Liked to go to school and succeeded very well, but 
 found it hard to settle down to work. Never cared for such play- 
 things as other children had. The games at home were usually 
 quiet, such as matching cards, jacks, etc. I was patient but lacked 
 self-reliance, for others had usually done for me what I did not 
 care to undertake by myself. I was humored by my mother, 
 with whom I spent a great deal of my time. At my birth she 
 was twenty-five and my father twenty-four years of age. They 
 had been married four years. My father is a farmer, and does 
 not have good health. He has no brothers or sisters, but my 
 mother has four brothers, who enjoy good health. 
 
 Female. Eleven years old. American-Jew. Nervous. Has 
 had no brothers or sisters. Health good. She attends a boarding 
 school and is regular in her attendance, which was begun at 
 nine. She does not get along well with other children, and often 
 will not play unless she can have her own way. She plays a 
 great deal. At home she places books on chairs as pupils and, 
 with another book in her hand, she addresses the chairs as her 
 pupils. She also likes to play theatre, pretending that she is a 
 ballet girl. Her home surroundings lead to this. She is kind and 
 sympathetic, but also contrary, vain and precocious. The loss of 
 sight in one eye and a broken arm were caused at birth. She has 
 been surrounded generally by adults who have petted and spoiled 
 her. The parents were e'ach about twenty-five at her birth and 
 had been married about two years. They have good health. Both 
 are excitable and nervous. The mother keeps a boarding house. 
 The father is an accountant. 
 
 Male. Eighteen years old. American. Irritable. Has good 
 health. He entered school at seven and attends regularly. With 
 other children he is always striving for the mastery and con- 
 sequently does not get along with them very well. In work he is 
 slow. He spends much time in play. He enjoys playing with 
 pets. He tells many improbable stories. One of these was about 
 a lion and a tiger fighting in his back yard. He saw them from 
 his window, put on his hat, went out and killed the lion, which 
 was about to conquer. He is affectionate, but very selfish also. 
 Has too much home indulgence. The father's age at his birth 
 was thirty-eight, that of the mother thirty. They had been 
 married three years. The father has good health; the mother is 
 excitable. Three sisters of the father died in infancy and only one 
 of his two brothers is now living. The mother had three brothers 
 and two sisters. This boy has an only-child cousin. 
 
 Out of a total of 269, there were 134 who did not get 
 along well with others, 54 only fairly well and 81 who 
 seem to be normal in this respect. When they disagreed 
 with other children it was usually because of a desire to 
 rule. If they failed in this they were likely to refuse to 
 associate with the children who caused the failure. They 
 were very likely to choose younger companions whom they 
 could control or older ones who were willing to be indulgent. 
 Many did not care for a large number of associates and 
 selected one or two for friends with whom they preferred 
 to spend most of their time. They did not in many instances 
 enjoy beino; in crowds, and were inclined to keep out of 
 games and very often remained in-doors to visit with the 
 teacher. A marked preference for the company of older 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 23 
 
 people was manifested, even when every opportunity for 
 association with younger persons was present. No doubt 
 this was due less to a dislike of younger company than to 
 their inability to understand, and be understood by, children 
 of near their own ages. It is plainly evident that they 
 had much the same longing for society as the children of 
 other families, but their isolated home life had failed to 
 give them equal skill and ability in realizing their social 
 interests. They did not understand so well how to make 
 approaches, how to concede this thing and that and were 
 not so likely to fall readily into companionable relationship 
 with those who were unaccustomed to yield more than half 
 to others. The greater intimacy with parents certainly con- 
 tributed to premature social development in certain 
 directions. 
 
 They were very often imposed upon, notwithstanding 
 the willingness which many of them displayed to practice 
 impositions on others. There were, of course, not a few 
 who were entirely normal in this respect, but they were 
 the ones who had played more with children of their own 
 ages, had had more sensible treatment at home and enjoyed 
 more vigorous health. Quite a number seemed to begin to 
 overcome these limitations at the age of puberty. 
 
 That they were not less anxious for companionship than 
 other children was shown in the rather common practice 
 of indulging in imaginary companionship, of which there 
 were about fifty well defined cases. Miss Vostrovsky 1 found 
 in the study of a number of such cases that a dislike of 
 solitude and a longing for more appreciative and sym- 
 pathetic relations with others, were the chief factors in 
 their development. The ones reported in the present study 
 appear to have had such an origin. 
 
 There was evidence in many of the reports to warrant 
 the assumption that only children, as a class, have more 
 than ordinary power of imagery. This is an inference, 
 however, which does not harmonize' with the views of 
 Baldwin, 2 who says: "And while he (the only child) 
 becomes proficient in some lines of instruction, he fails 
 in imagination, in brilliancy of fancy." On the other 
 hand, Stilly 8 states that his studies have lead him to^ a 
 conclusion directly opposite to that arrived at by Baldwin. 
 
 1 A Study of Imaginary Companions, Education, Vol. XV, 
 p. 383. 
 
 2 Mental Development, p. 358. 
 8 Studies in Childhood, p. 39. 
 
24 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 Of 244, there were 138 who spent the usual amount of 
 time in play at school, 44 who gave less time to it, and 62 
 who played little or none. Many of the 62 stood around 
 and watched others play, showing little inclination to join 
 in active games. They preferred the quieter forms of play 
 and often liked to he alone. If left to their own choice 
 they were not unlikely to be found in the school room 
 with their teachers during intermissions. It was stated in 
 a number of the reports that the boys preferred to play 
 with the girls, at strictly girls' games, such as keeping 
 house with dolls, and that they generally came to be called 
 " girl-boys.' ' As a rule they amused themselves in quieter 
 ways and appeared to take less pleasure in noisy games of 
 any sort. It was mentioned very often that they devoted 
 a considerable amount of time to reading and that they 
 were disposed to resent the intrusion of others upon their 
 privacy. Those who joined in active play at school fell 
 back into quieter ways at home. 
 
 Their best traits, in the order of frequency of mention, 
 were affection, honesty, ohedience and generosity. The 
 worst traits, in similar order, were selfishness, " spoiled,' ' 
 temper, jealousy, untruthfulness, stubbornness and haughti- 
 ness. The most prominent characteristics were precocity, 
 mentioned in 134 cases out of 238, selfishness in 94, imagin- 
 ativeness in 48, affection in 40, jealousy in 25, mental defects 
 in 23, temper in 23, self-will and vanity in 20. 
 
 The only boy, only girl and youngest child resemble the 
 only child in many respects, particularly those which relate 
 to the home environment and treatment. It appears to be 
 true also that the youngest child, like the only child, is 
 liable to lack in bodily vigor. Individuals of each of the 
 three classes were quite generally indulged by the parents. 
 The effects of such behavior on the part of the parents 
 were generally more unsatisfactorv in the case of the onlv 
 boy, or at least so it appeared. Kolrausche, 1 who made a 
 study of "Jugendspiele und Einzelsohne" in the Kaiser 
 Wilhelm Gymnasium at Hanover, observed that the only 
 sons entered into movement plays less regularly, if at all, 
 than the other boys. Observations of the games, (especially 
 foot ball) participated in by the pupils from unter tertia 
 to prima, showed that of the 70 with brothers 47 per cent 
 entered into the games regularly, 16 per cent irregularly 
 and 37 per cent exceptionally or not at all. Of the 68 only 
 sons, 13 per cent took part regularly, 12 per cent irregularly 
 
 IE. Kolrausche. Zeitschrift Fur Schule Gesundheitsflege, 
 Vol. IV., p. 178. 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 25 
 
 and 75 per cent not at all. The only sons showed a greater 
 number of bad athletes. Kolrausche concluded that the 
 home environment of only sons is not satisfactory and 
 that the ' * Jugendspiele ' ' should be made compulsory. 
 
 PRECOCITY. 
 
 Male. Sixteen years old. American. Nervous. He is natural- 
 ly delicate and is kept up only by the most constant attention. 
 He has never had brothers or sisters. He entered school at six 
 and has been regular in his attendance. In his earlier school days 
 he did not get along well with the other children, especially with 
 boys, who did not like to play with him because, as they said, he 
 had to tell his mother everything. In school work he succeeded 
 especially well. He would join in most of the games at school, 
 but usually withdrew when any roughness made its appearance. 
 This may have been due to his physical condition, as he had poor 
 eyes and spinal curvative. The home treatment was of a nature 
 to develop a marked religious tendency. This has grown so that 
 his mother goes to him as she would to an older person to discuss 
 religious topics in which she is interested, and she finds that he 
 talks remarkably well about such things. His teachers always 
 treated him with a great deal of respect. He never gave them 
 cause to treat him otherwise, for both his conduct and work were 
 far above the average. The father was thirty and the mother 
 twenty-five, at his birth. They had been married four years. Both 
 have delicate health. The father has two sisters and two brothers. 
 These latter do not have good health. 
 
 Female. Nine years old. American. Nervous. Is troubled 
 with heart disease. Has never had brothers or sisters. She 
 entered school when seven and has attended regularly, succeeding 
 very well in the work. She is precocious. Her ways are those 
 of older people and she is in a class of pupils at school who are 
 from two to five years older than she is. Her parents are quite 
 strict with her and treat her as if she were grown. The father 
 was thirty-one and the mother thirty-two, at her birth. They had 
 been married three years. Their habits are good. The father 
 is a lime agent; the mother was a teacher. The father had two 
 brothers and two sisters; the mother had none. 
 
 Female. Eleven years old. American. Nervous. She is 
 thought to be quite delicate and great care is taken of her. She is 
 kept in a warm room and seldom allowed to go out. She is often 
 sick and under the doctor's care. She has never had brothers 
 or sisters. She has a governess and has never attended school. 
 She has few companions of her own age and associates mainly 
 with grown-ups. She talks and acts in a grown-up manner. When 
 she plays with other children she gets along with them reasonably 
 well, but she does not care to run or take part in active sports. 
 She likes her lessons and is quick to learn. She is affectionate 
 and obedient, doing everything she can to please her parents. Her 
 parents give her a great deal of attention and gratify her every 
 wish. They are always planning something for her, and do not 
 like to have her away from them. It is my impression that she 
 should associate more with persons of her own age. Her parents 
 were both about thirty years of age at the time of her birth. The 
 father is a lawyer and the family occupies a good social position. 
 
 Male. Twenty-two years old. American. Nervous. Has never 
 been robust. He entered school at eight, but did not attend 
 regularly for several years because his mother was always anxious 
 about him whenever he was out of her sight. As he became older 
 and, as she thought, better able to take care of himself, his at- 
 tendance grew to be quite regular. He enjoyed the society of other 
 boys, but his mother determined the amount of time he should 
 devote to play and as a result he played less than he desired. 
 
26 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 Fortunately for him he was fonder of reading than of anything 
 else and when other boys were out on the street he was with his 
 books. He made remarkable progress in his studies and even his 
 games were those which had some connection with literature, 
 history, etc. His best trait is his fondness for his mother. During 
 the last two years, while away from home, he has written her an 
 average of three letters a week. He has no bad traits. He was 
 always coddled at home and as his early school work was with 
 an aunt for a teacher, it is safe to say he was petted in school. 
 It has always appeared to me that he should have had more of 
 the free out-door life of other boys; yet he has turned out to be 
 a good boy and others have not. The father was twenty-five and 
 the mother twenty-three, at his birth. They had been married a 
 year. The father died when the boy was nine years old. The 
 mother is exceedingly nervous. She had one brother. The father 
 had four sisters and two brothers. The boy's submission to ma- 
 ternal whims has made him a subject of many jokes, but he does 
 not mind them. 
 
 Female. Nine years old. Dignified. Was an old fashioned 
 kind of girl. If you had talked to her as to others of her age 
 she would have been insulted. Would come into our house, sit 
 down and talk like some little old woman. Never cared to play 
 with children of her own age. If she could not find older girls to 
 play with she would visit with the mothers of the children, rather 
 than play with the younger ones. Her peculiarities in this respect 
 seem to be due to having been too much with older persons. She 
 had spinal trouble when young; was a cripple for a while and not 
 allowed to play with others for fear of being hurt, hence she did 
 not care for children when older. She was petted a great deal 
 at home and treated as if a great deal older. Disagreeable to an 
 extent and wanted her own way. Did not go to school. 
 
 Although these and other examples of precocious or 
 premature mental development were undoubtedly the result 
 mainly of the social environment there is reason for thinking 
 that the physical condition was especially favorable to the 
 development of such prematurity. The lack of vigor, the 
 prevalence of nervous instability and other physical short- 
 comings supplied the conditions which predispose to pre- 
 cocity. It is a result which inevitably suggests the early 
 flowering and fruitasre of the failing plant, the windfall. 
 The rather constant association with older persons, to state 
 it positively, or the lack of companionship with children 
 of their own ages, to state it negatively, is the most im- 
 portant factor in producing the peculiarity in question. 
 They shared too largely in the affairs of adults and could 
 not well avoid the development of an outlook beyond their 
 years. The mental attitude, the language, the manners and 
 conduct generally, were modeled after those of mature 
 people and the result is obvious in any typical only-child. 
 
 CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 The health and vitality of these only children were 
 below the average for the ordinary child. Mental and 
 physical abnormalities were unusually common among them. 
 
 Neuropathic conditions were not uncommon in other 
 members of the family, while the greater average length of 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 27 
 
 time elapsing between marriages and the birth of children 
 points to the presence of a marked degree of relative 
 sterility in the stock. 
 
 The average of th cages of parents at the birth of girls 
 was considerably higher than that for parents of boys at 
 the corresponding time. A greater percentage of the girls 
 had only-child mothers and a higher percentage of the boys 
 had only-child fathers. 
 
 They usually entered school later, were more irregular 
 in attendance and met with less success in the work than 
 other children. The percentage of those who attended the 
 public school was less than that for all children in public 
 schools. 
 
 They did not join in plays and games so readily or 
 often as other children of the same ages, and as a rule 
 preferred a quieter form of amusement. The practice of 
 indulging in imaginary companionship was quite common. 
 In their relations with other children it not infrequently 
 happened that they preferred to associate with older or 
 younger persons and often with the opposite sex. They 
 were less efficient socially and experienced more friction 
 in their intercourse. 
 
 Probably precocity was the most prominent mental, and 
 selfishness the most striking moral, characteristic. 
 
 The youngest children, the only boys and the only girls 
 described, resembled the only-child very closely in mental 
 and social qualities. The number of reports on twins was 
 too small to supply noteworthy suggestions. 
 
 As a rule the parents were both over-solicitious and 
 too indulgent, an attitude which deprived the child of 
 freedom when he needed it and granted it when it should 
 have been refused, with the result that he found himself 
 unable to secure from others the concessions he expected 
 or to grant those required of him. 
 
 The data considered in this study does not justify any 
 definite conclusions as to the extent to which the less favor- 
 able health of the only-child class is a consequence of the 
 home treatment. At the same time it does not seem un- 
 reasonable to assume that there was a causal connection 
 between the poorer health of these and the general character 
 of the home life. It is easy to believe that a more rational 
 attitude on the part of the parents would have resulted in 
 an improved physical condition on the part of the child. 
 
 The connection between the home life and the mental, 
 moral and social peculiarities of such children is obvious 
 enough and many inferences of a pedagogical nature are 
 suggested. The reports and common observation clearly 
 
28 EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN AND 
 
 show that the home environment is the chief factor in pro- 
 ducing the only-child type. The same evidence shows also 
 that the mother is more responsible than the father in this 
 respect. The only-child, when a boy, is likely to be 
 effeminate, both because he associates too little with boys 
 and too much with the mother. He is likely to be a 
 " mother's boy," a type for which the normal boy has little 
 respect ; is likely to have an unnatural aversion to dirt and 
 noise and unlikely to engage in the rough-and-tumble play 
 peculiar to boys. Whether boys or girls, they have less of 
 the power of initiative and less ability to adapt themselves 
 to the changing situations incident to the association of 
 children under ordinary conditions. They are less venture- 
 some and more fearful of the consequences of their own 
 acts. They are, therefore, less able to take care of them- 
 selves in emergencies. They are over sensitive in their 
 responses to the overtures of other children and too ready 
 to regard them as manifestations of hostility. The defer- 
 ential consideration to which they have been accustomed 
 in the home creates an unwillingness on their part to make 
 the adjustments which characterize the intercourse of other 
 children. Possessing little of the give-and-take spirit 
 peculiar to such intercourse, the only-child is likely to re- 
 main near the circumference of the circle within which 
 the social development of the child should take place. 
 
 Too much association with older persons, especially the 
 parents, is conducive to prematurity of development, one 
 of the most obvious characteristics as well as one of the 
 most unsatisfactory. The blighting effects of such stimula- 
 tion are as glaring as they are unlovely and it is rather 
 difficult to understand how the parents can so far delude 
 themselves as to mistake such forwardness for extraordinary 
 mental capacity. The results would be more or less pathetic 
 if they were not so often suggestive of the ridiculous. The 
 priggish self-conceit and the smug behavior of the "mamma 
 Kindsc'lien" are a sure guarantee of a generous measure 
 of teasing and badgering. If enough of it is permitted and 
 endured the individual may eventually be transformed, 
 though neither the child nor his mother is likely to welcome 
 it. Children who have brothers and sisters cannot escape 
 the occasions for such conflict and co-operation and find 
 themselves prepared to meet the conditions involved in life 
 outside of the family circle, largely because the home life 
 compels the development of the power of adaptation. Most 
 parents, especially most mothers, cannot easily endure the 
 thought of having their offspring subjected to the rather 
 unsympathetic treatment involved in being one of the group, 
 
THE ONLY CHILD IN THE FAMILY 29 
 
 though they are fairly well able to do so when the group 
 is composed of members of the family. 
 
 Certainly the only-child, the youngest child, the only 
 boy, and the only girl, more than other children, stand in 
 need of the opportunities which attendance at the public 
 school will supply. The excessive humoring of their whims, 
 the constant practice of intervening when harmless dangers 
 ar3 threatened and the meddlesome interference generally 
 with their every movement, while it may afford the op- 
 portunity of expressing parental concern and affection, is 
 bad pedagogy. The observers who reported the cases agreed 
 unanimously in saying that there should have been less 
 indulgence ; that a more uniformly firm and natural method 
 of control should have been employed; that the children 
 should not have been so much with the parents and other 
 elderly persons, but more with children of their own ages, 
 to the end that they might have learned how to share with, 
 and yield somewhat to, others ; that the undue anxiety and 
 concentrated affection of the parents should have been dis- 
 placed by a more intelligent appreciation of the vital needs 
 of the child. 
 
 Since thiis study was completed a rather extended pamphlet on 
 the only child, "Das einzige Kind und seine Erziehung," by Dr. Eugen 
 Neter of Mannheim, Germany, has been published. It describes and 
 seeks to explain the peculiarities of the only child; and the great 
 German specialist in children's diseases, Adolf Baginsky, says in the 
 introduction that he has been led to look upon the situation of suck 
 children as a great hindrance, if not a serious danger, to their 
 physical and mental development. 
 
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