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Show CHILDREN'S LOVE AFFAIRS. I think that all mothers of the present day have observed the tendency to sentiment displayed by children, even when very young. Benny will gravely talk of his little sweetheart, Molly, who fully reciprocates his affection. Indeed, Molly's head is quite full of the matrimonial subject. Her very dolls are married gentlemen and ladies, with interesting families of children who are liable to all the ills that flesh is heir to; so that by-and-by she sets up a physician, who, in his turn, seeks a wife, probably among the dolls of Molly's young acquaintances; and thus the game of life goes on in miniature, and there are no more old-fashioned dolls in existence. The whole thing is wrong; but how to regulate it? This is a puzzling and delicate task. We have often heard that little girls talk and think much more about marriage than little boys. We have been taught that an earlier maturity, a more affectionate nature, and so on, explains this difference; but while it is undoubtedly affected by some of these things, yet I make bold to affirm that another cause operates far more strongly in producing the undesired effect, and that is the difference in their educations. I have noticed that delicate, carefully nurtured little boys are much more apt to dwell upon love-making than sturdy, romping ones. I have also noticed that the so-called Tom boy girls are much less given to silly pratings about courtship and so forth, than the model little misses. Does not the secret of the whole matter lie here? Don't dread the word Tom boy, mothers; we all dislike bold little girls, but I have seen the most dreadful Tom boys who were extremely modest and bashful, and I have seen (as I am sure everybody has) little girls who were never guilty of any boyish romping, who were, nevertheless, pert and bold to the last degree. Let children have plenty of exercise in the open air, and cultivate a desire for active play, and their silly sentimentality will be nipped in the bud. Courtship and marriage are far too serious subjects for children to trifle with, and no parents should for a moment countenance such folly. |
