Frances Lillian Ilg (1902– July 26, 1981) was an American pediatrician and professor at Yale University. She was an expert in infant and child development, as co-founder and director of the Gesell Institute of Child Development.[1]
Frances Ilg | |
|---|---|
 Frances Ilg, from the 1925 yearbook of Wellesley College | |
| Born | 1902 Oak Park, Illinois |
| Died | July 26, 1981 Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin |
| Occupation(s) | Pediatrician, college professor, writer |
Early life and education
editFrances Ilg was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the daughter of Joseph Frank Ilg and Leonore Petersen Ilg. Her father worked for the railroad;[2] her maternal grandparents were born in Norway. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1925.[3] She trained as a physician at Cornell Medical School, earning her medical degree in 1929.[1]
Career
editIlg was an assistant professor of child development of Yale University from 1937 to 1947. In 1950, she co-founded the Gesell Institute in New Haven with two colleagues, psychologist Louise Bates Ames and Janet Learned Rodell.[4] She also wrote a newspaper column, "Child Behavior", which was syndicated nationally.[5] In the 1950s and 1960s she counseled parents to "enjoy their children" and "guard their sense of fun and sense of humor"; she also advised school districts to consider emotional maturity as well as intellectual development in grade placements.[6] "We have been over-emphasizing the gifted child," she said.[7] In 1957 she received the William Freeman Snow Award from the American Social Hygiene Association, for "distinguished service to humanity."[8]
Works
edit- The first five years of life: a guide to the study of the preschool child, from the Yale clinic of child development, 1940
- (with Arnold Gesell) Child development, an introduction to the study of human growth, 1943
- Vision, its development in infant and child, 1946
- (with Arnold Gesell) The child from five to ten, 1946
- L'Enfant de 5 à 10 ans, 1949
- Child behavior, 1951
- The Gesell Institute party book, 1959
- Parents ask, 1962
- (with Louise Bates Ames) Mosaic patterns of American children, 1962
- School readiness; behavior tests used at the Gesell Institute, 1964
- Your four-year-old: wild and wonderful, 1976
- Your three-year-old: friend or enemy, 1976
- Your six-year-old: defiant but loving, 1979
- Your five-year-old: sunny and serene, 1979
Personal life
editIlg adopted a daughter, Tordis, in 1938.[9] Ilg died in 1981, aged 78 years, while vacationing in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Affeld, J'Anne (2006). "Ilg, Frances (1902-1981)". In Neil J. Salkind; Lewis H. Margolis; Kimberly DeRuyck; Kristin Rasmussen (eds.). Encyclopedia of Human Development. SAGE. p. 737. ISBN 978-1-4129-0475-9.
- ^ "Obituary for Leonore Ilg (Aged 87)". Chicago Tribune. 1961-05-24. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-04-21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Wellesley legenda. 1925. p. 45.
- ^ "Two Doctors Will Answer Behavior Queries". Detroit Free Press. 1952-01-13. p. 52. Retrieved 2022-04-21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Waggoner, Walter H. (1981-07-28). "DR. Frances L. Ilg, Authority and Writer on Child Behavior". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ Russell, Kathlyn (1971-07-27). "Teachers Hear Child Expert". Times-Advocate. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-04-21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jaycox, Betty (1962-01-18). "'Pushing Children Too Fast'". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-04-21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jaycox, Betty (1962-01-12). "Pediatric Authority Will Speak". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-04-21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Tordis Ilg Engaged to Wed Louis Isselhardt; Programer for A.T.&T. Betrothed to Doctoral Candidate at N.Y.U." The New York Times. 1964-12-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-21.