The Instincts 13 



2. There is the accessory instinct of crying, also 

 often necessary as nature's signal for another intake 

 of the food supply. Associated with these two in- 

 stincts are a number of reflexes which take care of 

 the important organic processes, such as digestion, 

 assimilation, and excretion. Now, we have prac- 

 tically all there is to the "character" of the human 

 infant. He has, as yet, no instinct for fighting, for 

 sexual love, or for business. And any effort to arouse 

 and make use of the last-named dormant qualities 

 would be futile as well as ridiculous. In respect to a 

 vast majority of the things to be learned, the child 

 is a mere bundle of potentialities, all of which must 

 bide their time for an awakening. In short, wise 

 parents soon learn that the center of life in the infant 

 child is in the stomach, and that if he be fed rightly, 

 kept much in the open air, clothed comfortably, and 

 bathed frequently, the body-building processes will 

 usually go on in a satisfactory manner. 



3. Although the little life seems so tiny and the 

 daily round of infantile activities so simple and mo- 

 notonous, the character-developing processes are al- 

 ready making their subtle beginnings. For example, 

 the first lessons in habit are being inculcated through 

 the comparative rhythm in the infant's life. It will 

 be found both conducive to good health and helpful 

 to character-development to attend to all the infant's 

 needs with strict regularity. Let us follow the new- 

 born child around his little cycle and see what hap- 



