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Show Fair Play for the Childreim j Dealing with children calls for a very keen sense of Justice from grown-UpS, Fmphasla Is too persistently laid upon love. Love without limit we must Indeed have for children to be to them what we were Intended to be. but a sense of Justice, Jus-tice, which we are consciously trying every' day to broaden and strenninen, that it may never fail In fall play toward children murt RO hnd In hand with the great love Justice to children Is difficult. People who think It U easy have not thought decpiv into the subject There are thoee who ire notably fair in their dealings with lh mature world who are often flagrantly I unjust In their dealings with little ones. Thcv are Individuals who have not the power of seeing life through a child's eves. This power Justice to children Insists In-sists upon With soma of us the power is a birthright we Just naturally have It. With others of us it must bo cultivated, and It can be cultivated to high degree f the will to possess It be strong enough. The child's mind is undeveloped. It Mmply cannot reason out things as our minds can The child has not bad the experiences ex-periences that have gone to produce the powvr In ua Life Is all new to It. Life's lessons, save a very simple few, are a closed book to It It took a very great many of these lessons to teach us to know ihai certain consequences are bound to tobow certain acts. i Through Child's Eyes. 1 Tou, for lnsjne are rareful of your possessions now hr. , j know that If vou are not Ihoy will be destroyed or wear out qulckl 1 r nol look nice. Ask yourself honest!; how many things you have destroyed, worn out quickly, spoiled of the "nice look" through the esrs. to have come to your present 6anlty in how to treat them, Tet you expect a little child with its tiny fraction of life 3 experiences ex-periences to keep Its toys in perfect condition, con-dition, not to tear its clothes or soil clean ones In tiklng the child to task vou do not see things through the child's mind, do not understand how very difficult it la for It not to do what you take such exception ex-ception to. In your scolding and Irritation you endow the little mind with all the reasoning capacity of your own mature mlr.d. You expect of a mere child all the self control that you have been all your I life In winning. Is this Justice? Think how you must (bewilder and frighten the little culprit 1 who probably If you would only see things fairly Is no culprit at all-slmply a little eager. Impetuous being in constant need , of patient guidance In this matter of j 'learning how to take care of its things. Your little child takes a bit of money from your purse and you Immediately call ; it "stealing" and fit a punishment meet for as serious a crime. Yet you may never have seriously explained to tho child the .vrong in appropriating other people' i things Very likely ihe child knew that it was doing wrong, but it never knew that it was doing wrong to the degre that you carry the offence through yout fatal mistake of aejemg tho act as it l Judged when perpetrated by one old enough to understand Ita heinous qualit Perhaps the child did not think It w JM ft., . . af -""r. MiruiiBi (Maajniy 1 ou were n"1 In the room w hen It took the money B careful not to frighten the child Into say- I Ing that it did on the sly what It would I have done under your very nose, all m I' smiling confidence that you would not In I the least object to its having the coin. A ( I, child Just because it has not had experl- jM enc in holding Its own against argument j1 can often be frightened Into saying what It sees you expect it to say even If this M cruelty against itaalf Children do rue! things, but these should not be Judged as they should be emanating from mature Intent. The same Is true of all the counties thoughtless, exasperating things they do It Is expecting expect-ing too much of a chfld that It should sea wrongdoing with mature, reflective vision. r,f O'tir:-.- it m '. I tralneij from follow- 1 Ing wayward Impulses; yes, but trslned by a grown-up mind that knows how to meet the. little Impulsive mind half way. so that the little mind can be made to se wltn its own vision tbit It Is really nM right to do this or that as the c-, may I - I t the child to jopt our vision. It cannot do this. Common sens should toll us th.- |