| Show I Your Bab Baby And Mine By MYRTLE MEYER ELDRED 1 MOTHERS MUST EARN EARN L LEGE GE OF oi BEING C CONFIDANTES Strange is i the mother who does doe not hot yearn year to be the confidante her of her chil dren Her ambition from their babyhood babyhood baby baby- hood Is i to t answer anser their questions and solve their youthful problems It I is isa i a real tragedy for tor her to discover that they are given to pouring their most Intimate secrets secret into int the ears of strangers stranger stanger MUST PROVE WORTHY WORTHYA A mother is In the ie ideal I position to to be the recipient of her childrens children's chiden's confidences confidences con con- and the fault faut is i hers when she isn t One becomes a confidante not b by a supreme desire to t be one one but by having earned the privilege The parents very natural desire to be perfect In the eyes of her children often erects an Insurmountable bar bat barrier rier ncr between them them Because of her superiority re real l or assumed the child finds it impossible to tu confide many of ot his own problems because by so sa doing doig be he might lose caste in the eyes eyes of the te mother moter It I takes considerable courage for a achild achild achild child to admit that he does docs not possess In such concrete forms all al the moral morl principles and opinions so so strongly expressed by the mother So he confides confides con con- fides his doubts doubts' and questions and perplexities to someone someone who will wi be bc less les shocked to discover that he is of the earth earthy arthy and not a well wel washed angel ancel THE TUE SOLUTION One has ha to begin early in the chi chil ehl drens dren's lives to answer their earnest searching questions in the same spirit in which we would answer them were the child not our own own If I a mother moter can get and hold that purely impersonal im im- impersonal im- im personal persona attitude she has solved the problem There is nothing which will wi so freeze the confidences of a au Ques s honing child as an attitude of Noone o No Noone one who is really realy nice would even ask such a question queston In the realm of sex questions which arise arie by the time tie the child is five years ears old more or less les the mother must tread most carefully No shocked or embarrassed or thou than 1 attitude can be embraced It I may fin im- i- i press aress the child but only with wit the sure knowledge that the next time hed he'd better ask someone besides his moth moth- er Answering Chi Childrens Children's rens ren's Questions and Answering Children Questions About Sex are both helpful l leaflets for the mother lother of growing children or both may be obtained by sending a self addressed stamped envelope en with wih each request to Mr Mrs Eldred Eldred El- El dred of the Your Baby and ad Mine department of this newspaper DONT DON'T DON RIDICULE There is no doubt that children must be made aware that their mother mothers is s neither critical of their questions nor amused by them A subject which is s wholly serious serous to the child may seem ridiculous when their content is i highly important Few children and not all al adults are adept at phrasing their questions questions The Te mother who lis lister lister lster ls- ls lis- lis ter and then retells the story later ter and then retell story later for or the amusement of her friends frends can cart be ae certain that she has effectually killed any timid bud of confidence springing up between her and her children It will wi not blom bloom again agai The mother who wins and keeps the confidence of her children is ono one one who neither exalts exalt herself nor de demeans dc dc- dc means them She never insults their their- earnestness by laughing at their questions questions questions ques ques- nor wounds them by making of their confidences amusement capital their cont dences dences If I she can keep these principles principles ples in mind she can build up in i the tho child by repeated experiences tho the sure knowledge that in his mother he will wi find neither critic nor judge but jut merely an intelligent willing in interpreter interpreter interpreter in- in of ot his' his perplexities |
