The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-05-18
FALSEHOON N CHILDREN AND IT'S
CURE



Perhaps there no evil into which children
so easily and SO Universally fall, as that Of ~
ing.
The temptation too, is strong, and therefore
the encouragement to veracty should be proper
honai!y strong Ii child breaks anything and
honestly av'wsb do not be angry with him.
II candor procurs scodng, besides the strong
effort it naturally costs, depend upon it, he will
soon be discouraged. In such cases do not speak
TIL you can con'ol youseIf. Say I'm glad you
told me. 1t wasa very valuable article, and am
truly sorry 1t is broken: but it would have griev
ed me much more to have my son deceive me.
And having said this do not reproachfully allude
to the accident afierwads. | was about to say
that children should never be punished for what
was honestly avowed but perhaps there may
be some cases where they do wrong, from the
idea that an avowal will excuse them; in this
case, they tell the truth from policy, not from
conscience; and they should be reasoned with
and punished However, it is the safe side to
forgive good deal. rather than run any risk of
fostering habitscf deception.
Should you at any time discover yosx,child
in lie, treat itwilh great solemnily. Let him
see that 1t grleyes you, and strikes you with
horror; as the worst OF al! possible faults. Do
not restore hlmto your confidence and affection
| until you see lis heart is really touched by re-
pentcnce. If hlsehood becomes habit with
him, do not tempt him to make up stories by
asking him to detail all the circumstances con-
nected with the affairs he has denied. Listen
coldly to whathe says and let him see by your
manner, that you do not ask him questions
because you have not the least confidence in his
telling the truth. But remember to encourage
as well as discourage. Impress upon his mind
that God wa help him to get lid Of the ev
whenever he really wishes TO get rid of it, anc
that every temptation that he overcomes vii
make the next one more easy Receive every
evidence OF his truth with delight and ELECTION
and let him see that your heart is full of Joy
that he has galned one victory over SO great
fault.
Let your hmily never hear trihing deception
CLOSED over by any excuses speak of then
with unlimited adherence and contempt.
Above allthings, let your own habits be 0
the strictest ruth. Examine closely You viii
be surprised to find in how many little thing
we all act ilsincerely. | have at this momen
IN my memory friend who probably would b.
, very indignant to be told that she did not speal
, the truth, and dare say that on all she deemet
important OCCASIONS, she might be relied upon
yet she deceived her children. True, sh
: thought it vas for their good but that was
, mistake of hers; deception never produce
good one evening saw her remove plat,
OF plum cake from the tea-table to the closet
Her youngest daughter asked her for piece
The reply vas, ''lt's all gone puss came an
8 ate it up. At the same time the mother winke
e to little girl, two or three years older, not t
tell that sfr had seen her put it in the closet
There is IA old proverb about killing two bird
with one some; here two daughters were in
: jured by one lie.-The youngest was deceived
e and the Oldest was taught to participate in tn
deception.
More experience would teach the little gil
: that the cat did not eat the cake, and havin
!. found thather mother would lie, she would in al
probability dispute her when she even spok
the truth. And after all, what use is there il
resorting u such degrading exPedients' VIII
not tell the child, the plum cake is in the closet
bu. is notgood for you at night, and l sha
not give ym piece until morning. If she ha
been properly educated, this would have Statistic
8 her 4; and ii she choose to be troublesome, ben
put to bed without her supper would teac
her leas1n for her futue course.
$ A respect for the property of others must b
taught children; for, until they are ins,ructe
I they havevery losse ideas upon the subject.
family of children cannot be too much urge
and encouraged to be generous in lending an
giving to each other; but they should be laugh
a scrupul.us regard for each others property
They shuld never use each others thing
without skiing first, "Brother may take you
D sled !. "Slster may have your book? p &c
\ They sh'uld be taught to put them carefully i
g their place when they have done using the y,
: and shotld be impressed with this idea that
is a greder fault to injure anothcr's propcrt
t than to h careless of our own. 1fany little bal
a ter has teen made, and a dispute afterward
arises, har both sides with impartiality. All
allow nodeparture from what was promised i
the bargain. From such little things as these
children receive their first ideas of honesty an
Justice as well as truth.