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Show THE HOME, I' : 3 This Department is Edited by Miss Hazel Love of the Agricultural Agricul-tural College. MISTAKEN KINDNESS. Annie Rose. Guclph. No doubt a great many of my readers read-ers have hoarxH thejir parents and grand-parents say in disgust, "The children of today arc not like the children of twenty or twenty-five years ago." Why is this? What has brought it about, and what is the remedy? The change of course is due largely to changed conditions. Since the introduction in-troduction and almost universal use of telcgrah, telephone, bicycle, steam car, electric car, steamboat and automobile, auto-mobile, time and space annihilating machines, the child sees, hears and goes, more in a few years than his parents did in a lifetime. -He learns too much and passes from one thing or occupation too quickly. He docs not develop strength of will and he lacks the "gift of continuance." Its off the old and on with the new in everything games, toys, clothes and even friendship. When our parents were young they were treated as children, they went to bed with birds and flowers; were clad in simply comfortable clothing and lived on plain, wholesome nourishing foodi In far too many homes of today to-day children arc allowed to sit up too late, cither to study-or because there is company too often, the rare exception ex-ception that it used tcSbc. All growing grow-ing children should be in ".bed by eight o'clock and earlier, if there is any inherent weakness. It is tnereAthcy recuperate after the activities orfthc Jay. V Why have children indigestion & "Either this child has sinned or his parent," may well be said of the child with this complaint. The childl of today to-day is consulted as to what he will cat. The hopeful young son of a college col-lege professor when asked if he would have some meat said, "yes, but I don't want any skin or fat. The (better .plan is to serve the child and begin from the first to do so. Give him what is best for his health, and expect him to eat what is put before hjm. Indigestion -comes frdm nervousness or ovcrtircdncss. If the child has 5 been duly excited or allowed to sit up late, the chances arc that his stomach will be upset. I From supper time to bed time should be a quiet period of the day. Often the father who has been absent all day wishes to be kind to the children child-ren and relieve the mother for a while, so he romps and plays with the child- ' t ren who soon become Heated and excited, ex-cited, and when put to bed cannot " sleep. The parents wonder why, for surely the little ones arc tired. Have we grown-ups never suffered from sleeplessness brought about by excitement? ex-citement? One lady who was nurs-ing nurs-ing her first child, said to the father: "Now George don't moke her laugh, it is so near her bedtime." This wise young mother did not permit her b.mby to be excited or played with af- ' tcr the evening meal. What different treatment another child received, whose father gave him a good time (?) after supper each day, and as a result he is a restless, nervous boy, who cannot sit still two minutes. I would like to emphasize this point, as parents par-ents we form a desire to be kind. The 4 nerves of sight, hearing, feeling, "etc., arc very sensitive in the infant, and U cannot endure sudden shock without Jj injury. f One of thctlcadcrs of this state was once heard to say: "Be kind, but be firm, in the rearing of your children." Firmness with kindness is the foundation founda-tion of child culture. Sa.y "no" and mean it and stick to it. Do not be coaxed or tormented into saying "yes," and above all, for the sake of- v,, everybody in the house do not allow the child to tease or argue. Do not make impossible threats such as "if you do not keep quiet I will give you to that big black dog outside;" a lie, as well u. w 1 improbability, and do "notwgivc promises that you do not intcndXtpjrfulfill. IndulgcnS is not kindness "nd is sure to sowceds of discontent, vhosc harvest willbcdisappointment and heartaches. I pityfee only child, as it cannot help but run great chances of being mad'c selfish through indulgence. indul-gence. It is usually the children of large families, who grow up kind, o liging and self-reliant, A : . Children should be obliged to :dcr B little act& of kindness, and easy chores Hr E.bout the house without being paid H for thenu At the same time I think H it is a good plan to assign some task H such as bringing the cows, helping H with milking, getting the kindling, H etc., and a fixed recompense of so H much a week allowed, providing the H task is faithfully performed-. If we H impress the child with the value of M time wnd money, and the relative value H of these compared with character and :AB usefulness we arc laying the founda- B tion for noble men and women. |
