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Show iKathleen Norris Says: What Can Parents Do About It? Bell Syndicate. WNU Features. "Sally has twice been reported to me by school authorities as frequenting roadhousesr smoking, drinking." By KATHLEEN NORRIS "W 7"E HEAR a great deal A about parents' re-V re-V V sponsibility for juvenile juve-nile delinquency," writes Mama St. John from Seattle, "but not much about what and how and why and when parents can do anything about it! "Ours is a normal household of father, mother, two girls, one boy, small income, no servant, one car. My girls, 19 and 17, have jobs. Margaret Mar-garet makes good money in a local defense plant, Sally has a part-time Job and keeps up with her college studies. Mart is in second year high. "Margaret is a good, quiet, pretty pret-ty girl, but she has always been discontented, feeling herself socially handicapped. Sally is independent, pleasure-loving, not affectionate or domestic. Mart seems to live a life of his own; his boy friends are always al-ways here, in the basement, or he is off with them in their basements. Incidentally we have a spacious, warm, well-lighted basement. Go to Roadhouses. "Never having had money enough to enable my girls to entertain, or take their place in society, I can't blame them for finding their pleasures pleas-ures away from home." the litter goes on. "But I feel deeply the disadvantages dis-advantages under which they have had to suffer. I am as distressed over Margaret's periods of depression depres-sion as over Sally's irresponsibility and independence. Margaret's case is serious enough to have needed medical advice; Sally has twice been reported to me by school authorities as frequenting road-houses, road-houses, smoking, drinking. These are terrible words to write of one's daughter, but in my anxiety to And an answer to this problem I will not spare myself. I have worked hard all my life, am a good cook, manager; the house is always clean and comfortable, and my husband is a steady, hard-working man devoted de-voted to his family. But he is somewhat some-what quiet, undemonstrative, and puzzled by what goes on. "I know we have failed, with a neurotic child, an unmanageable child, and a boy whose interests appear ap-pear to be anywhere than at home, but how have we failed?" the letter let-ter ends. Well, Marna, I think perhaps you have failed as most of us do, in not realizing that good food, education, fatherly and motherly sympathy are not enough. We can't be merely negative in solving this problem of - snfetJ -moral safety for our children chil-dren we have to struggle and work and plan to achieve it. Herej.this college town where I live t often think of the Martins, and what Mrs. Martin did for her children. There were four of them, two boys and two girls; they have lived for two generations In a rambling shabby big place just out of town. They have always been poor, for the father is an asthma sufferer and works only intermittently. intermit-tently. The mother has helped out the family income by taking children chil-dren to board, raising vegetables, making enkes and jelly for the Woman's Exchange. Yet hospitality and gaiety and cooperation co-operation were the rules of this home, and love was the undercurrent under-current of it all. I have heard Bee, the oldest girl, greet calling swains from the strawberry bed: "come and help me fix these plants, and I'll see what Mother has for sup- LA MdrV J Help me fix these plants." ENTERTAINING AT HOME A mother admits that she has failed. Her two daughters and her son have been seeking their pleasures away from home since their early teens. One daughter has gotten into serious trouble; the other, only on-ly 17, has been frequenting roadhouses and other dangerous danger-ous places. The boy, in second year high school, brings his friends to the house, but he -seems to "live a life of his own." There is little family unity or real affection. They have only a small house, and the girls feel unable to entertain enter-tain at home. Miss Norris, in reply, tells of a family she knows who lived contentedly in a small and humble dwelling, yet who knew all the "best people." The young folks were quite popular, and had company at home most of the time. perl" I have seen Phil and Jack as eagerly and as skilfully helping to pack a picnic lunch as any two women could. It might be only apples, buns, frankfurters, but by the time the Martins and their friends had dragged themselves to the top of some hill, or gone off in the rickety car to some beach, it tasted like nectar to the'm. Games at Home. Father and mother instituted and led the games, in this house. There were guessing games at the table, and nobody minded the fact that the entire meal consisted of one generous gen-erous stew filled with garden vegetables vege-tables and built around two pounds of shank beef. Phyllis, the younger girl, was as expert a cook at 14 as her mother was; everybody in the Martin house was busy, and they always impressed callers into helping. help-ing. They never interrupted anything any-thing that was going on just because be-cause company came, and the young people of my household used to come home to relate that they had assisted at putting the Martin attic in order, raking the Martin's paths, or pasting photographs in the Martin scrapbooks. Three of the Martins married most happily; in each case the sweetheart was one of the familiar guests of the household. Phyllis, the youngest, is now a WAVE, and reports re-ports enthusiastically that "all the girls love pencil games." Everyone loves pencil games, guessing games, charades, theatricals, the-atricals, hide-and-go-seek with the lights out. Everyone loves to be drawn into arrangements and preparations. One of the Martin boys married the lonely, lovely daughter of one of the richest and stiffest and dullest families in town. This girl used to telephone Bee Martin Mar-tin wistfully on- many a Saturday night: "Bee, can I come? Ask your mother. I'll bring two roast chickens chick-ens and a layer cake." In her own magnificent home the chickens and the layer cake were just uninteresting food. But on the Martin's table, with laughter anc love, teasing and competing, chal lenge and triumph all about. the became food for the gods. It may be too lale for Marna. Bui how about you? It is never too earl to start. Economize on Gas. Since there's no practicable wa to measure and ration out the ga; and electricity as we do the oil anc meat, the government has to depenc on voluntary cooperation. Here art suggestions for saving on gas: Set that the cooking flame burns cleai blue; if it doesn't, clean the burnei or correct burner adjustment Ust a small-size burner with a sm.il size pot, a larger burner with f large pot. Cook with as little watei as possible. Don't use your ga; stove for heating purposes. |