Show kathleen norris says dont rob your children bell syndicate features Fea turea V 10 lo q bov I 1 about lour four months ago I 1 went with mother to a lecture and afterward ard went in in to congratulate the speaker who is is a friend lie ile introduced me to a young captain who asked to call on me by KATHLEEN NORRIS T WERY little while you lil EVERY meet some mother or perhaps some mother and father who completely sacrifice their children to their own whims and comfort and are ra rather ther proud of doing so they dont understand or even like children and they ma make k e no effort to do so they leave the children in hotel rooms or drag them about in hot cars neglect them laugh at them spoil them criticize and ignore them at will everyone knows these badly fed badly managed children w who h 0 a are re by turns shy and bold and in odd w ways ays both stupid and shrewd children who have been left to nurses whose companionship would in five minutes disgust their parents children who are lonely bewildered wil dered and uneasy in childhood and destined to be lonely bewildered and uneasy all through their lives rich child suffers most these are by no means the children of the very poor it would seem rather that they are the children of the most privileged classes in poverty in the crowded slums of new yorks east side or the packed tenements of the bronx there is always companionship rivalry excitement cit ement there are always dishes to wash and errands to run and babies to tend no its in the comfortable for table isolated mansions of the well to do that childhood suffers most one social registered extremely wealthy girl in whose case I 1 was interested hardly saw her own family tor for the first years 0 of f her life when at seventeen she w was a s finally permitted to enter the dra drawing w in g room she che was a fat giggling embarrassed and embarrassing creature who infantile french and german and italian a and nd so was supposed to be educated but who told the eligible young man to whom she was introduced that her favorite game was jackstones jack stones and her favorite reading the oz books and who grabbed so eagerly at a box of candy and stuffed so much of it into her mou mouth th that it was decided that kathryns introduction to society must be still further delayed then there was the case of the unfortunate wife of george the fourth a princess raised in a german castle but so noisy and dirty in her habits that the dignified old ambassador who went to bring her to england as the regents bride broke it to her as gently as possible that her chances of holding the affections of george would be improved if she would make a habit t f daily baths neglected human contacts it is a stran strang gething eg that eat mothers who will spend time and money who will worry for years 0 ver over the book education of their children alien deny them the social help the simple training in human contacts in nice manners manners in the making and holding of friendships that is so much more valuable it Is a sad ad commentary upon our handling of children that a book called how to make friends and influence people has deservedly been a bestseller for years here is a letter from a girl whose parents are apparently both highly cultured well meaning persons but how low they have failed bettinel Bet my mother is am air angel and my tather ather is a very wonderful man writes bettina Bett lna from her home ah in the suburbs suburb of a great eastern city YOUNG LIVES they are precious those young lives entrusted to your care they represent rep reser it one of americas 4 most valuable assets for without well trained heal healthy thy happy children we can hardly hope for the kind of disciplined and courageous adults we need to keep our nation strong the years of childhood pass quickly and before beare you know it your little son or daughter will have grown up if lie he or she has had love and guidance and companionship lie he will be able to face the problems of life unafraid the rest is up to him we live in a small but beautiful fu house with a lovely garden I 1 went to a school near philadelphia for seven years however so I 1 have no friends in our immediate neighborhood my father is a sc scientist and is writing a book my mother seems entirely satisfied with her flowers her books and the company of a few old wid md intimate friends we are isolated my fathers book is about obscure infections and he is certainly more conscious of them and more afraid of them than most people are we take a few precautions that are unusual I 1 suppose never wearing street shoes in the house and sunning the newspaper before we open it but they are not serious enough to make people think we are queer but yet we are isolated in au all my life I 1 never had a party or a friend to visit me even tor for one night the letter goes on other girls visited each others families in vacations this never happened to me in the summers we go with an old professor and his wife into the mountains everyone is always kind to me I 1 have an allowance I 1 know my father is fond of me and mother would do anything to please me except that as she always says father must come first and father like company voices make him nervous dear he doean doesn I 1 t understand der stand young people this sort of thing I 1 have heard all my life when I 1 was about seven we went to china to study germs there were were small children on the boat and the first time I 1 played with them I 1 was hysterically excited and I 1 had an embarrassing accident and they laughed at me my mother took me away to give ine e a whipping for this misfortune and my sense of shame was so great that for the rest of the trip I 1 would not play with the others but played up on the boat deck by myself at school I 1 had dear and warm friends but we are all scattered now and I 1 dont ever see them discourages possible suitor about tour four months ago I 1 went with mother to a lecture and afterward went in to congratulate the speaker who is a friend he introduced me to a young captain who asked to call on me my mother told him that we have a very busy daddy at os or house and she was afraid callers caller would disturb him but the officer persisted and wrote to me asking me if nir mother and I 1 would meet him for dinner somewhere my mother said I 1 must tell him that it was out of the question we would hope to see him again at some other tine time this morning I 1 see announced his engagement to a very pretty girl a neighbor whose home la Is quite famous tor for informal fun and hospitality |