Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1867-07-24
FAMILY GOVERN NMENT.

| In looking into human life, and seeing
how entirely dependent for character and
happiness the child is upon the parent,
we cannot but consider it one of the
greatest of the innumerable mysteries of
Divine Providence, that one human be-
ing should be placed SO completely in the
hands Of another The wonder is inereas-
ed by thinking how much skill, how much
knowledge, how much irmness, what de-
clslon at one time, and what delicacy Of
moral touch, if l may SO express it, at
another, are necessary, in order to sue
ceed IN training up the infant mind as it
ought to be trained. It would sometimes
almost seem that God has given to par
ents work to do, Of such intrinsic diff
culties, as very far exceed the capacities
and the powers Of those whom be has
| commissioned to execute it. There seems,
at first view, to be want Of correspon-
dence between what, in wisely balanced
| plan, we might suppose ought to be nice
ly adapted to each other,-the moral cap
abilities Of the parent, and the moral ne.
cessites Of the child. We say at first
view, for on more mature reflection we
| discover simple principles which common
sense and honest faithfulness will always
suggest, and which, steadily pursued,
must secure favorable results Among
the lower classes of society, we find many,
very many families Of children we'll
brought up; and among the higher classes,
and those too where virtue and Christian
principle seem to reign, and where relg-
ious instruction is profusely given, we
| find total failures. The children are
sources Of trouble and wretchedness to
their parents, from the time when they
gain the first victory over their mother
by screaming and struggling in the cradle,
to the month Of wretehedness in later life,
during which they are brought home
| night after night, from scenes Of dissipa-
tion and vice, to break mothers heart,
| OF to bIanch the cheek of father with
suppressed and silent suffering.
| What are the causes Of these sad fail
ures? Why are cases 50 frequent in
which the children Of yirtuous men grow
| up vicious and abandoned There are
many nice and delicate adjustments nvc-
essary to secure the highest and best re
suits in the education Of child, but the
principle necessary for tolerable success
must be few and simple. There. are two,
which we wish we had a voice loud
enough to thunder in the ears of every
| parent in the country; there arc two, the
breach Of one or the other of which will
explain almost every case of gross failure
on the part Of Virtuous parents, which we
have ever known. They are these:
L. Keep your children from bad COM
pany; and,
2. Make them obey you.
There is no time to enlarge on these
points but it seems to US that habits of
insubordination at home, and the com
pany of bad boys abroad are the two great
sources of evil, which undo SO much of
what moral and religious instruction
would otherwise effect The current OF
parental interest is setting towards mere
instruction to such an extent as to ever
rate altogether it's power and the i'm
mense injury which comes in from such
sources as bad company and insubordina-
ton, is overlooked and forgotten. What
folly to think that a boy can play with
the profane, impure, passionate boys
which herd in the streets, six days in the
week, and have the stains all wiped away
by being compelled to learn his Sunday
school lesson on the seventh or that chill
dren who made the kitchen or the nurse
ry scenes of riot and noise, from the age
OF three to eight years, will be prepared
tor anything in after life but to carry
the spirit Of insubordination and riot
wherever they may go. No; chill
dren should be fought most certainly, but
they must also be token core Of: They
must be governed at home, and be kept
from communicating influences from abroad
or they are ruined. If parents ask, how
shall we make our children obey? we an
swer, in the easiest and pleasantest way
you can, but at all events MAKE THEM
OBEY If you ask how slallwe keep our
boys from bad company we answer, too,
IN the easiest and pleasantest way you
possibly can, but at all events KEEP THEM
OUT OF THE STREETS. The alternative
1t seems to US, is as clear and decided as
any which circumstances ever made up
tor man; you must govern your children
and keep them away from the contamina-
ton ofvlce, or you must expect to spend
your old age In mourning over the ruins
OF your family--A55ott
- A CrCYu