OCR Text |
Show Discover Why L Child Tries J To Run Away j Br OLTVK ROBERTS BARTON If a child run off. should wt: (a Tie him p? (b) Punish him severely whca he's found? (c) Look for smm rente that prompt him to escape? (d) Scare ' him by teilinf him the policeman will get him? Ask almost any child why he runs away and he won't be able to tell you. Little folk don't analyse - . or look for reasons. . They Just dp ' things from Impulse,, but usually , that Impulse, whatever it is, shows a certain curiosity, hunger, escape or whim. Even a whim has a reason. rea-son. If we ret under It "C is the idea that t should rive much attention to. And I shall tell you how to fo about It, if you have little runaway In your family. First of all. I should try to take a few days off from as many household house-hold tasks as possible. Then I . should not play watchdog, but entertainer. en-tertainer. If you do this, perhaps something can be proved. Billy may lose all thought of slip- ping away by himself, If he finds that stories, game and so on are to be bad at home.. Proved then- that this child is a bit lonely. Is tired of the same old wagon and no one to play train with, and It looking for some form of excitement excite-ment to fill In time. If he reacts to your efforts, thea It would be wise, to try to find hla a playmate he likes. He may have one now whom he doesn't care for . much. Another child, if available, might turn the trick. Children will run away sometimes some-times looking for a pet. They see a big dog hosing around the yard, and follow at once. - Maybe they pal around together for a whole morning. After that, the little boy or girl may keep hunting. In this case, perhaps tome tort of pet might keep the wanderer home. It won't cure the cause to tie up the child or to lock him in. It won't help, as many have found, to whip him. To frighten any-ehlld about people that is, policeman or big bad bogeys, to terrible. . |