Attitudes of Children toward Their Own Bodies and Those of Other Children

Abstract

Two groups of nursery school children were used for observation. Group 1 consisted of 11 boys* and 11 girls, whose mean age was 34.7 months with a range from twenty-seven months to forty-two months. The mean intelligence quotient was 117.8 with a range from ninety-nine to one hundred thirty-five. Group 2 consisted of 8 boys and 8 girls, from forty-two to sixty-two months in age, with a mean: age of fifty-one months. The mean intelligence quotient of this group was 126.5 with a range from one hundred eight to one hundred forty-seven. The children of the two groups did not mingle with each other freely. They ate and slept on different floors of the same building, and special parts of the playground were assigned t6 each group. However, reasonable freedom was permitted the children to go from one group to another, especially on the playground. All the children ate their midday meal and took their afternoon sleep in the school. They undressed completely, and put on their pajamas for the nap. The dressing room for the younger group contained not only the children's lockers, but also the wash basins and the toilets. The toilet and wash basins for the older group were in a bathroom adjoining the dressing room. There was no segregation of the sexes in either group. One adult was in charge of each dressing room and on some occasions there was an assistant. Adult observers were so common among the children during all their activities that they created no unusual situation.