Show Your Baby and Mine By MYRTLE 1 MEYER l ELDRED LET JOHN JOliN DO IT IT BATTLE IT BATTLE ATTLE CRY OF HOUSEHOLD The busy mother of an ordinary family expects that as chief worker of the family she can expect some help from her half-grown half children She Is Justified in this expectation If children are arc to develop a sense of responsibility they must assume it at home The child who grows up with the feeling teelin that work gets itself done without effort that it is always something outside of his experiences has to learn all he must know about responsibility after he has gotten out into the world That's a hard les- les son When children are small they learn that there are arc a multitude of ot tasks which are necessary to the maintenance maintenance main maintenance main main- m of the home As soon as the child can run about he can be assigned assigned assigned as as- as- as signed duties such as picking up the papers carrying out ash trays tras bringIng bringing bringing bring bring- ing the silver slIver to or from irom the table helping helpin to carry in the china Even tiny Iny children of two or three can follow ollow mother about the kitchen or orIn orin orn In n the bedroom thrilled to be helping helping help ing tag REGULAR DUTIES As young daughter grows in efficiency eli effi her tasks increase Each day which mother moth moth- there are several things er cr looks for her to do Ellen always shovels the ashes out of the fireplace In n the morning for me And nothing would prevent Ellens Ellen's dally daily shouldering shoulder shoulder- ing tag of ot that responsibility She takes pride and joy in her accomplishment and her play is forgotten until this work is done Where there are arc several children It t is a n convenient plan to write out the he dally daily tasks and apportion them Then their fulfillment is expected anc and there is no arguing about who shall do what The eternal conflict that tha rages in a household when mother asks the nearest child to help Is well known cnown known FAMILIAR CONFLICT Let John do it mother Ive I've got all al these hese algebra problems He hasn't got a thing to do I suppose not from the Indignant John Make her do it mother She's always getting out of things around here She's a lazy bum Lazy bum yourself I guess J I washed all those dishes last night while you went vent out and skated Next time line you want to go skating I wont won't be je so accommodating By this time the mother is ready to o do the work herself rather than talk alk more about it BE E FAIR But this cant can't happen if it the days day's program of tasks is listed and each child assigned to whatever he can do doest dobest dobest Certain best est or most conveniently tasks are disliked by all the family and those tasks should be divided one child being responsible for them one day or one week and another child chile for the next time In this way no one needs to face the charge that he is shirking The flourish when mother moth moth- er lets the task overwhelm her anc and then tries to enlist the aid of the family when the need arises This is poor management and poor management management manage- manage ment nent is always penalized A clear understanding of what children can do doo doto doto to o help and an impartial assignment of such tasks make for peace com corn ort fort and a mutual bearing of household household house house- hold lold responsibilities |