What Children Talk About

1895

The Boys Talked or Girls and the Girls of Their Studies.

"I once occupied two rooms on the ground floor of an old fashioned house which stood on a corner where a large number of school children passed," said a lady recently. "One day it occurred to me that it would be interesting to listen to their conversation. So, as the pupils reached my front windows, I walked with them to my side windows, and so to the length of the house, I being unobserved behind blinds and sash curtains.

"After three weeks' observation I found that boys from 8 to 14 years of age were bragging continually of their superior prowess in the line of 'lickin,' 'baseball,' 'bike ridin,' and 'big brother.' Never a word of their studies.

"Girls of the same age talked: 'And — mamma — said,' 'And — teacher said,' 'I don't care, my numbers are too hard; I'll tell mamma,' 'And she says,' 'And my doll is as pretty; mamma said so,' etc., in the same strain, with mamma coming in at the beginning or end of every sentence. Both sexes of this age talked as fast as their tongues allowed. Evidently there were no listeners.

"Of the ages from 14 to 17 the girls talked with scarcely an exception of their studies, and there were plenty of listeners. The boys of the same age talked with scarcely an exception of girls, girls, with plenty of listeners.

"Now, I confess, this surprised me! I had always been taught to believe just the reverse, and it took various listenings and peeps before I would believe my senses. But the truth was before me — the boys talking girls, girls, girls, and the girls talking studies, studies, studies." — Kansas City Star.