Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-12-11
Children.

WE can not expend too much care on
the training and welfare of children, for
first impressions are always strong, and
generally most difficult to alter. 1t ia
easier to learn than to unlearn, and the
carelessness Of parents in permitting their
children to wander within reach Of con-
Eliminating influences is SO productive of
serious and lasting i'll that it cannot be too
strongly condemned 1t is too much the
custom for parents Especially in the pleas
ant world of fashion) to give themselves
up 80 much to their own amusement that
they become blinded to family ties, and
Danish their offspring to the seclusion Of
the school-room or nursery, there to work
or play under the supervision of govern
esses and servants; and though happily
there are many instances OF devoted at
tachment between the little ones and their
guardians, still the love of the latter can
not equal or suffice for that of an affection
ate parent, nor can their influence, strong
as it may be, ever carry with it the serious
weight and lifelong recollection ofsa pa
rents kind and instructive cOunsels. The
evil results of the want of tact in the man.
agement of children, and want of sympa-
thy with their little joys and sorrows, are
unpleasantly apparent in the disconnected,
nervous, and ill.tempered children whom
we 80 often meet in society. We all know
that much-to-b e-avoided individual (gen-
orally of the male sex) "l'enfant terrible"
who is over-fed, 0ver-indulged, and over
impertinent; destruction is his chief amuse-
ment. and neither our clothes nor our bod
les are safe from his assaults. He has
wonderful talent for exhibiting, at most in
convenient times, the skeletons" that his
acquaintances are only too DESTROYS to keep
in their "cupboards." No secret is safe
with him, and there is no limit to the
mischief he will say or do. Being a
spoiled child, he is always able to have
his little whims INDUCED, for he well
knows that if he is thwarted he has only
to roar and make himself generally dis
agreeable in order to gain his desires. He
forms striking contrast to those of his
brethren who are of milder and more or
derby temperament, and who, unfortunate
ly, often suffer much for their docility
and obedience. AS they do not intrude
themselve upon our notice, they are fire.
quently put on one side and forgotten,
and Qike so many Of their elders in the
race Of life pay the penalty Of their good
behavior by being condemned to solitude
and oblivion. If the family possesses
more than one small olive-branch, the
youngsters may find some consolation in
companionship, and often become devot-
edly attached to each other; but if, as is
too often the case, the family consists Of
but one child, and that neglected one,
how sad its fatel What touching sight
1t is to see the little creature compelled to
play alonei There it sits in distant
corner of the room, surrounded by its
toys, and gently murmuring to itself as it
pretends to hold conversations with i'm
aginary people. 1t is SO engrossed In its
own pursuits that it hardly notices our
approach. 1t seems to live in little cas-
tie in the air where mirth is forbidden, for
no ringing laughter comes from that lone
ly corner, and a surprised and frightene d
glance is the only reply to our proposal
for romp. We turn away with pain, as
we remember that this is one of the little
children that must be seen but not heard.
-Harper's Basar.