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Show Gravy bowl hS Care' -No. best sele .i i i , i r m 1 1 BY GLEN LEONARD For what it's worth, the U S. Government Printing Office sells fewer booklets on how to figure your federal income tax than on how to care for infants. It can only mean that people are more interested in doing things right for babies than for Uncle Sam. If interest in a subject is any indication, the best seller list of government publications reveals something about parents and their children as the kids mature from the cradle to college. 1 5 best sellers Of 15 best sellers among the 27,000 publications available from the GPO, no fewer than four give help on raising children. Two others talk about having babies and feeding them. What's interesting about all of this is that parents seem to show less, interest in asking for the government's advice as the child gets older. The publication on "Infant Care" sells better than any of the other 27,000 titles offered. For 20 cents you can get all the hints you need to look after a newborn. The GPO sells twice as many copies of this booklet as they do of "Your Child from one to six." And that pamphlet sells at double &m m the rate of a similar booklet for the six to 12 age group. Does this mean that our parents are twice as concerned about our first year of life as they are about the pre-school years, and then take another 50 per cent cut in interest after we get into kindergarten? kinder-garten? Less concerned The statistics say American citizens citi-zens are even less concerned about the adolescent in their family. A booklet on that subject sells less than half as many copies as the one for pre-teens. The sales figures show only one thing for sure. Moms and dads turn to the government for advice on raising children with decreasing frequency as the child grows older. No wonder there's a generation gap. Kids are getting less and less attention from their folks when they need it most. That at least is the conclusion you have to draw if the government govern-ment best seller list means anything. any-thing. The list must at least be an indication of what grown-up America is interested in being advised on. New mothers Undoubtedly a good many of the baby care booklets go to new mothers who are , doing things right?10!" cl;,ild-As others come along c"ild raising nuis4 ing. 6llesft By the time a child w leen years, the parenuh decided they d r " aren'1 Slli t them any good any You're wondering ,, else the American! " . terCSted - Asides t Younger generation. M source says there's only ' certainty in life which cL-to cL-to equaling the anxiety ofj Care " and as mentioned that s taxes. More conscientious Americans are apparMit. conscientious about their fir--ob ligations to the than their parental chores fc child's advanced ycais -i Federal Income Tax" jSr two on the best seller lis,' "Tax Guide for Small Bn c is listed sixth. The goveir c obligations to you, "Your 5 ': Security," comes in eighth. " ' Besides the books on r- 5 kids, which are listed i, ' fourth, fifth and fifteenth : you can get pamphlets oa natal Care" (Number km. "Breast Feeding" (tin-twelve). E Priorities w A booklet "Strictly fa: agers" sells seventh best on: c( of fifteen. Teens are sii. et vice about themselves fro: Sam more than twice as o: their parents inquire about ;: cents. For what it's worth, "i: Breathing" comes in mt "Syphilis and Gonorther "Postage Stamps of ll: eleventh, "Septic Tank Thirteenth, and "Food i ; ness" fourteenth. qui The American people t jjj concerned about cariiKi septic tanks then the) e Cq looking after teens! Sen It's a fact: the GPO t ad ( 14.6 million copies of Care," 1.4 million copies. lrag tic Tank Care," bul only pen) lion copies of the leaflet cre, "Adolescent in Youi Fit thin It's just a small i- imp where our national p'- dent ever. |