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Show OUR CHILDREN 88 By ANGELO PATRI TRUSTWORTHY PARENTS A RE you a trustworthy parent? I am not asking If you are truthful and all that I take for granted that you meet your obligations obliga-tions and that you are sincere In your relationships with your children chil-dren as well as your neighbors. But dc the children feel that they can trust you with their whole confidence? confi-dence? You see, sometimes you are short with a child, ne comes to you when you are busy. lie begins to beat about the bush In the hope of getting get-ting on your sunny side. You don't feel like that and you snap at him. "What Is It you want, anyway?" any-way?" "Nothing. I didn't want anything. any-thing. I was Just telling you." In your Irritation you miss that "Just telling you." He wanted to tell you something but he wasn't quite sure of his reception. He felt you out and you snapped. lie retreated re-treated and held his own counsel. That time he found you untrustworthy, untrust-worthy, you see. Of course, you didn't know that It was Important But he doesn't know that you really were friendly underneath, away underneath, you see. ' At another trme he told you a secret It was a very childish secret about a little girl In his class. lie rather liked her and he wanted to give her something nice for her birthday, and he asked you about It, and you promised to help. You meant well about It You enjoyed this first glimmer of his Interest In girls. It was so shy and so sweet that you couldn't help smiling about it and telling It to Aunt Tillie, and he happened along and heard you. lie was astounded. You see. he felt that you had betrayed his confidence. confi-dence. Maybe sometime one of the children chil-dren got Into trouble. He flounders Into it because of his Ignorance and Inexperience and his uncontrolled Impulse. He was frightened and came to you with his difficulty. You were so angry to think of all the trouble this thing was going to bring to him and to you that you lost your head and stormed like a pirate. The child decided It was no use to look for help from your quarter quar-ter and left home, making a bad matter worse. The experiences . children have with us are what set their attitudes toward us and other people. No child ever grew up without giving his people some trouble. The trouble is cleared away sooner, the child redirected earlier and with greater certainty, If he found an understanding mind and a helping hand ready for him. Anger, fear, selfishness, will drive children away from us. THIS LEISURE ASIDE from the lack of work that Is causing so much Idleness, Idle-ness, there Is a normal leisure that has to be taken Into account In planning plan-ning the children's "education. School does not take all of a child's time. Home can use very little of It, as home Is organized today. That throws the child back upon himself for several hours dally. "Thomas, will you stop annoying that dog? Let him alone. I can't stand this barking and yelping and chasing around another minute. Take him outdoors If you want to play." "I don't want to go outdoors. There's nothing doing." "Then go do something useful. A boy of your age ought to be able to do something better than monkey with a dog or drum on the table." "Tell me something to do and I'll do It. I'm sick and tired of sticking around with nothing to do." "Head a book, why don't you?" "Read a book. Just as If I hadn't read a hundred books, I want to have some fun. Tell me something to do." That something to do Is the beginning be-ginning and end of our happiness in this world. So long as we have something to do we are willing to live. When we have nothing to do we have no will to live and that makes for bitterness and despair. We can save this generation from that by training them to have something some-thing they like to do. All little children are active. They never lack for something to do, but more often than not, we have to stop them. We cannot have the house razed, the gardens ruined. This is no easy burden for parents par-ents to carry, What can they teach children to do? Games come first. Housework, garden work, shop work; animals, collections, are next In order. We begin close at home and gradually extend the field of activity until the child settles upon something he likes to do. This is not Intended to be his life work. It Is his hobby. Let the little chap collect his cards and his stamps; help the older old-er one to follow his music, his painting, his pottery, whatever his hands find to do. You do not know what good thing Is to come of It. You can he certain, however, that It Is a good thing. . Cell Syndicate. WNU Scrvlc. |