Page:Scouting for girls, adapted from Girl guiding.djvu/262

248 The Psychology of the Girl

The second item to recognise, although as a point it is of first importance, is that the girl of eight to ten is psychologically quite different from the girl of ten to fifteen. I don't mean that the change comes about with a bang in the tenth year; but the younger girl is growing relatively in mind and body more rapidly than the elder one, and the transition gradually comes about approximately at those ages in the average girl. The age at which crime begins among the poorer class of children points to the age at which character begins to form itself, and it appears much earlier in life than is usually supposed; that is to say, the crime returns show a good deal of juvenile depravity at the early age of ten and eleven, and at twelve it has mounted to its highest point in the young generation up to twenty. Between the ages of eight and nine, therefore, seem to be the right time to get hold of the girl when the seeds of character may begin to sprout into pliant tendrils ready to trail off in the wrong direction, but easily taken in hand at that time and trained aright.

Under eleven the following are common attributes in the average child: make-believe, appreciation of fairy tales, eagerness for new experiences, collection of stamps and other curios, mental restlessness, physical restlessness, thoughtlessness, untruthfulness, etc. Over eleven the following attributes may be generally counted on: constructiveness, hero-worship, liking for team games, dawning conscience, sense of humour, of pathos and of sympathy.