The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-08-07
THE DISADVANTAGES OF wEaLH.
In the Bringing Up of Children.
London SPECTATOR

[London SPECTATOR
We have no doubt, whatever, that, in this
generation especially, the well-to-do have
much more difficulty in bringing up their
children than the strugglers have Former
ly this was not so much the case, because the
necessity for strong discipline was so thor
oughly acknowledged that it was maintaine ed
almost without an effort, and the habit of
obedience was enforced by practically ire
sistible authority. But the specially of to-
day is to concede freedom in all directions.
and especially freedom to children and those
who are subordinate. Discipline in any
strong form is, among large classes, and over
great tracts of the world, nearly dead. The
bad effect of that change-we do not me, n
the change from severity to kindliness, but
the change from studious government to conf
parative inattentlon-is very great, but is
partly concealed by the fact that poverty
acts as disciplining atmosphere. 1t fixes
conditions rigidly. The girl must learn to
do her own dress making or 60 untidy. The
boy must go to work, or there will not be
enough, and to that particular work, for only
the rich have much choice of occupations.
Economy is imperative for the money is not
there, and no training in self-sacrifce acts
daily hourly, atty, like compulsory
economy. The wlll is compressed by the
facts of life, and becomes at once strong and
pliable like leather. With the rich, that
discipline is absent, and can not be artificial
iy produced and the young have only con-
scious training" in the athletes sense, from
direct authority, which as we said, it is the
tendency of the age to relax. The result is
not only that the passions, especially
the passion of self-will, grow too
strong, though that is so clear as to have
become truism; but that among both good
and bad certain bonelessness of character
is apparent, a certain indisposition TO endure,
or to form strong purposes as to the work of
a life a certain want not so much of energy
as of decision and pertinacity. The children
of the strugglers very often tail utterly
either from inherent defects of character or
from insuperable obstacles Of position ; but
more of them win than the children of the
well-off, and, taken as a body, they have
stronger and finer characters. AS their chill
dren grow up the well do find them more
burdensome, more difficult to manage, more
troublesome to settle than the poorer do;
are more anxious for their future and more
dispeased with their defects of character
and conduct which, indeed, from the
absence of the pressure of circumstances, are
much greater With the very rich, anxiety
about their children, crosses of different kinds
inflicted by them, and their frequent total
failures, make up, we believe, definite and
separate source of pain; and even with the
well-off, greatly increase the burden of life,
just at time when burdens are most anxious
ly avoided. A man has not gained much in
the struggle of life whose children are prof
ligate, babyish, characterless, or given up to
selfishness; and that is far more often the
lot of the rich than of the poor, and consti-
tutes at least one true 'spinch of wealth"