Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-05-11
Home POliteness In Little Folks.

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serious discussion.-London Spectator.
Home POliteness In Little Folks.
"TRUE wisdom. early sought and gained,
In age will give thee rest;
Oh, then improve the morn OF life,
To make its evening blest."
Parents, as soon as your little ones be-
gin to totter about, and speak, say lisping-
ly, "ma," and "pa" that very instant teach
them courtesy, good manners, to use cor
rect language, chaste, delicate, refined,
avoiding everything vulgar. unconth,
| ciownish, indicate or ungrammatical.
Even baby lips can be taught refinement,
courtesy, politeness of manners, things
delicate, tasteful, beautiful, heavenly-the
little words please" and "thank you, y
when favors are conferred; and far easier
will they learn them than older children.
What is termed baby talk, when ad-
dressed to children old enough to under
stand and initiate it, is detestable. The
parents must remember that when the
child can comprehend one word its educa-
ton is begun The mother, especially, is
called to officiate as professor OF languages
in the domestic univG rsity. But who, in
teaching foreigner the English language,
would say to him that until he becomes
further advanced he must call horse a
dorsey" and a dog a bow-wow," and
that for the present he will address his
maternal parent as his "mudderg" This
seems sufficiently ridiculous; but this
is not all-it would be unjust TO the
learner; it would teach him pronunciations
which he must unlearn as laboriously as
he learned them. You would, thus, in
fact, double his task. The folly and in.
Justice are the same when you teach a lit
tie child to speak q distorted, mangled
burlesque language, Of which it becomes
ashamed when older, and tries to unlearn
it.
Little folks should be taught correct
language as early as possible not q slip
of the tongue should pass without correc,
| ton.
We advise all young people to acquire
in early life the habit of using good Ian
guage, both in speaking and in writing
| and to abandon forever the use of slang
words and phrases, else the unfortunate
victim of neglected education is very
probably doomed to talk slang for life.
The first infantile lisping should be
marked with critical precision. Every
thing vile, vulgar, clownish, impolite, un
couth, ungrammstical, immoral, and all
slang phrases, should be sedulously avoid
| ed, and all things true honest, just, pure
lovely, inculcated. All habits, once formed
are formed Jorerer!
Fiji first the bushel with the wheat,
With wisdom-food for eouls to eat;
Then chat, the fiction OF the day,
| Will find no place, and blow away"
Parents, the habits formed now In the
hearts of your off spring will be lifelong
1t was principle with the old Jesuits-
that if they might have the first sever
years of a child's life, they cared not who
had the after training.
In teaching your children these little
sweet courtesies Of life. you must repea
over and over the same lessons for the frs
| few years. 1t requires line upon line, and
be not discouraged, even after seventy
| times repetition. The reward will come
at length, and you rejoice to see the little
child you have taught 80 laboriously act
ing voluntarily on principles you have in
stilled, requiring no prompting or correc'
ton, for courtesy has become habit.
In no place is the distinction between
the refined and the ill-bred more marked
than at the table. If your children are
not early taught polteness here, you must
prepare yourselves and them for thou
sand notifications in future life, and must
look to see them regarded as annoying and
disagreeable by those whose good will you
| NAV most desire to secure. a child left
to himself bringeth his mother to shame"
However humble your position in life,
though your family gather about table OF
pine instead of mahogany, your children
may and should be taught the same lesson
| of respectful behavior. 1t Is duty which
God requires Of you, and He holds you re.
sponsible for every unchecked manifesto
ton of disrespect or disobedience you al
| low in your presence. Let your children
learn TO sit quietly until all older than
themselves are helped, and do not begin
compromising with some little insurgent
by lump from the sugar bowl. II you
do, il will by no means be the beginning
| of the end" As they advance in years
encourage them TO Join pleasantly, but al
ways mOdestly, In the family conversation
around the table. Let the meal time bt
one of the most cheerful and heavenly
hours of the day. Come to the festive
board with something good to communi
cate, edifying, administering grace 10 those
present-that every thought, word anC
deed may be "apples Of gold In pictures
| of silver" The table spread with heaven'i
choice bounties is the appropriate place Il
inculcate order, sobriety, courtesy, polite
ness of manners, gentlemanly department
strict temperance In all things
"The family Is little book,
The children are the leaves,
The parents are he cover, thas
| Protesting beauty Gives"
-"Apples Of Go'd."
GAM sitting on the style, Mary" q
the husband said when he sat on his wife,
new bonnet For thirty years this up
peared regularly among the wit ant
Humor" of the weekly press, and u woult
have appeared for thirty more IL the mil
liners hadn't got To making the wile's bon
net too small Tor the husband 70 sit on.