The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-04-06
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saarlinr at Children.

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| The other evening, about eight o.
clock, we had occasion to take a short
ride in a street-car. Among our fell
low passengers were a respectablelook-
ing lady and her two small children.
One of the children was a girl about
four years old, who sat on the car-seat,
while the other, baby of few months,
occupied his mothers lap. AT that
hour in the evening very young chill
dren are apt to be sleepy, and. neither
of these infants was an exception to the
general rule. The ipjudicious mother
seemed to overlook this fact in infan-
tile natural history, or else to be igpo-
rant of it. She demanded of them the
same rigid conformity to regulations
concerning sitting up straight and re-
framing from fdge.ing, that she seemed
to be in the habit Of exacting of them
during those hours of the day when
they are fresh and hearty. She wor-
ried the baby into a state of fidgety
fretfulness. She teased and tormented
the large, child by trying to make her
sit up like an adult, when she wanted
to rest herself oy leaning back, and by
insisting that she should hold her feet
still, when she wanted to kick them to-
gethcr. In the space of eight min
utes by the watch, she exercised disci-
pline on that suffering child fourteen
times. Some of these exercises were
xclusively the lash OF the tongue, but
more than half of them supplemented
the acidulous 'Sit up there, now, will
you!' with slap, pull, or pinch.
The correction appeared to be total
failure for all purposes for which it was
intended, unless its sole purpose was to
vex the unhappy children and make
them more unhappy than they would
otherwise have been. The more the
woman corrected the children, the
more imperative seemed the demand
for additional correction. We felt
sadly for the tormented little folks.
We wondered exactly how hardly it
would 20 with them when they should
reach home, and probably receive
sound thrashing before finally closing
their eyes in slumber.
There are women who seldom severe
ly punish their children by beating,
punching, or kicking, who nevertheless
manage to inhict a great amount Of
worry upon them by pecking and snap
ping at them, and threatening them
with much that they propose to do in
the way Of punishment. This has
hardening as well as worrying effect
on the threatened ones. The children
soor understand that most of the prom
ises of punishment are nothing but
threats which will never be carried in
to execution, and they govern their con-
duct accordingly.
1t is a mean thing to visit on child
the anger or fretiulness which may, for
the time being, have possession of the
parent. There are many children pun
ished for no offense at all, or for little
offenses for which kind word to the
child would be sufficient to set him
right. To be continually snarling and
swapping at child, continually exhib-
iting him to himself as little malefac-
tor, is, to say the best of it, poor policy.
Severe reproof may be necessary in
aggravated cases. The people who
worry their children into aggravated
disobedieuce by constantly aud Gisa-
greeably reproving them when reproof
is unnecessary, eventually find them
selves the parents Of disobcdient sons
and daughters. The parent or teacher
who thus makes an enemy of the child
will find it difficult ever to regain the
child's friendship and confidence.
A child is not thing to be cuffed
and kicked and whipped and scolded
and threatened-not mere object Of
dicipIine, to be made to. march in
soldierly fashion through life in obedi-
encc to harsh requirement. Our chill
dren are given to US to love, to teach,
to train for happiness here and here
after. They are tor companions and
helpers to us. They are to lead US by
their happy smiles, and their cheerfully
rendered obedience. They are to
smooth the rough places for us, and we
for them. We are to cheer each other;
to brighten each others paths. We
are partners with them in joy or sorrow,
and tney with US. Let US make the
partnership happy one to its junior as
we'll as senior members. Let US bar
the windows and close the door against
everything that is unhappy and dismal.
Life is too short to spend moment in
snarling. Let us make the most of it,
and be joyful.