Show KATHLEEN NORRIS real advantages lie in home letsey ETSEY WILSON of portland bore ore is one of those thosa mothers who struggle and strain sacrifice and suffer to give their chloren costly advantages and overlook the much greater advantages that lie close at hand with no cost at all david my husband and I 1 are miserable over a serious disagreement about the childrens education writes betsey he considers me extravagant because my one prayer and hope for them is that they may have more education and more culture than I 1 ever had we have a good income and we also have almost in the victory bonds his mother left us lot let me tell you what some of these so called extravagances are the letter goes on my three younger children two boys boya and a girl are in nursery schools that include clude luncheon and naps the older girls giris are arc in a less expensive private school they have as extras music a play club and ballroom da dancing nging both jo go to a saturday skating ng clu club band and of course all this includes incidental expenses of trips and clothing myrlan my plan it is to borrow the necessary five or six thousand a year from our savings ye restoring storing it as the children grow older we ve were both underprivileged to in youth david and 1 I lie he consequently has been a passionate student all his life and I 1 take out my old hunger for advantages in hopes for my children do you think I 1 am justified in this plan culture tor for children 11 1 I want my children to know cultured people an nice friends I 1 want them to be ba familiar with music and languages sports and social usage and I 1 will sacrifice anything and everything to this end to what better use could david and tz al h 52 I 1 1 want tham the M to know culture H I 1 possibly put our money well ill tell you betsey to what better use you could put that handsome nest egg leave it where it Ss Is in uncle sams hands it be safer and begin to add to it before you know it davids income wont be ba so large or so steady the girls and boys will be scattered and whether br or not you bought them dancing lessons tennis rackets or a dozen changes of pretty clothes will not matter and will not be remembered the time when you and david will want a small house a garden a cocker spaniel a car and independence independence independence cel you dont want then to be living with the impatient young wife of david junior or to have to murmur to margery daddy must have hava a hundred dollars for his teeth dear demands demand will grow never add anything to the vanishing bank account if ones once you begin to gnaw at it dont deceive yourself in 10 years the tha children will want far more than they do now not less so during this long vacation begin the great upheaval most lives would be much better for an overhauling and a great upheaval now and then put the children into public schools school and if tho public schools are not tine fine enough help to make them finer gather a few friends around them and ind find a friend of ct your own who will give them an all dancing lessons in your house at the cost of a few sandwiches and bottles of pop every week children dance na naturally y and they have so much fun learning leaming together and teaching each other that it is a shame to send them to lifeless and completely uninterested teachers at 0 nn an hour put thorn on a dress dregs allowance and buy them much less expensive clothes and dont forget that school of all schools the family dinner table and that power of all social power good manners good manners are only gentleness and consideration your children will learn them in no better place than at the home table perhaps you been bringing dad into the conversation enough how much do the children know of his boyhood the mistakes he made the lessons he learned the things he had to do for his mother the big fish he caught on that camping week that cost him just 2137 how much do they know of you and the reason you have for wanting them to have more than you had as a girl how interesting can you and dad make local school and sport politics during the dinner table conversation in other words what priceless privileges of companionship and s sharing haring mental menial stimulus and happy family amusement are you losing while you run madly after dancing teachers and gym teachers and psychiatrists and fashions you give them everything they need tor for happy successful lives when you give them tle the price priceless lesi possession of sound character gentle manners intelligent interest in what Is going on trained help in handling household work and home finances hospitality that they pey can afford can handle themselves |