Worries of Childhood

When the heart of a man is beset with care, he is supposed to recall his carefree childhood. Two professionally skeptical psychologists of Columbia University's Teachers College were not so sure about that. To check up on careless youth, they inventoried the worries of 540 fifth- & sixth-graders in New York City's public schools. Last week they published the facts as reported by the children:

Of the girls 37%, of the boys 29%, had constant worries. Approximately half of them worried only now & then; the rest said they never worried at all. The three chief worries of both boys & girls were the same: 1) failing a test, 2) mother working too hard, 3) mother getting sick. Other big worries: having a poor report card, father working too hard, people telling lies about you, being late for school, being scolded, doing wrong, getting sick.

Littlest worries: losing your fountain pen, growing up, having bad dreams, not finding a job after leaving school, getting bad marks in conduct, not sleeping at night, robbers, choking, getting married, kidnappers, world coming to an end, witches.

Since psychologists must always have a conclusion: "[It] would seem to indicate that our school system lays too much emphasis upon 'failing a test,' 'having a poor report card,' 'being late to school' and 'being left back in school.' We cannot easily reduce children's worries about family matters, but we might very well do so in regard to school matters that are not very significant for the child's future growth and development."

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