Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-06-11
TRAINING CHILDREN.

TRIMMING CHILDREN.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs XXI1:6.
The command is explicit, ''train up a
child in the way he should CO., and the
promise is likewise explicit and sure,
land when he is old he will not depart
from it." The degeneracy of the youths
of the present day. and the multiplied
cases where the children of seemingly
honest, pious parents have ruined them
selves and disgraced their friends point
to some radical mistake in this important
business. Why a man who is upright IN
all his dealings, and whose word re-
Quires no bond to make it good, should
have false trickster for son, or de-
ceitful daughter, seems lncomprehensi
BILE to an observer. Some allowance must
be made for the unhappy peculiarities of
ancestors, but the main source of the evil
is the training. AS in tree culture the
forester knows that the sapling of
white oak, if properly set out and
trained, will become monarch
among trees, and that if the tree
be of the dwarf oak species, train it as
he will dwarf oak it will always remain.
So the descendants of line of degraded
ancestry may, by assiduous training, by
looping off an evil tendency here, and a
bad habit there, become better citszens;
but the fine instinct of truth, 1.-THE inbred
loyalty to virtue" like untainted blood,
is an inheritance. Blessed indeed is the
child who is heir to such wealth.
To train a child in the way he should go
example must accompany precept. 1t is
folly to teach son not to steal, and then
permit him to witness the sharp tricks Of
trade, the bargains his father drives.
The mind of child is full Of question
ings, and when he hears the same lips
saying sit is naught, it is naught,' - to the
seller, and then boasting of the trade, and
at home teaching him to be honest if he
would be happy, what queer idea he
must have of right and wrong. Be sure,
however, that he will evolve one fact out
of the chaos, and that will be that bust
ness, with his father, means cheating.
No unscrouplous tricky man can expect
to have an honest son. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs Of thistles? He may
not teach him, in words to be dishonest,
but his daily example is a silent but eff
Gent teacher and if the boy be an apt
pupil he may become, IN time not only
shrewd business man, but also thief
and felon. When an energetic promis-
ing young man betrays the trust COM
mitted to him, and ruins his own life for
money, people shake their heads and
wonder how the child of such good
parents could be so unworthy, but if the
truth were known, nothing but a mi
raculous interpesition of Providence could
have kept him from ruin. From his
earliest childhood he was familiar with
deceit and falsehood in little things.
When he came home with marbles or a
jack knife he had won by cheating, in
stead of reproof, he was called smart
boy, and assured that he was destined to
be rich man. Thus slowly but surely
he acquired the habit Of lying and steal
ing. When a daughter hears her mother
greet her acquaintance in the most cor
dial manner, urge them to remain and
invite them to come again, and upon
o their departure eXclaim "Thank heaven
they are gone, they are awful
tiresome,' she is given a les
son in lying which all the knowl-
edge of all the catechisms ever written
cannot eradicate. The many schemes,
and endless maneuvers of vain, fash
ionable woman of limited means to make
a display and conceal slender purse,
impress themselves with great force on
the plastic minds of children. The
mother is often q church member and
that only makes the matter worse, fol
what harm can there be in deceit when
Christians practice it. Another
lesson in lying is the failure
of parents to keep their promises. No
matter what is the nature of the promise,
whether of reward or penalty, it must
be vigorously fulfilled.
The great lack of respect for the aged
among children now is the result of their
home training. Their parents neither
command or require respect for them
selves. They allow the children to rule
the house, entertain the guests, and criti-
else their parents. The father invariably
speaks of old Brown and Granny Jones,
and his children follow his example
In the great haste to get rich which
engrosses all the time and thought of the
majority of men, the minds of the young
are poisoned and to make money fairly or
unfairly, only to make it, becomes the
chief aim of life. ''Train up a child in
the way he should go'' means constant
and unremitting vigilance on the part of
parents and guardians, not only to keep
him from evil associations outside his
home, but to surround him at home with
all pure, loving, honest influences.
A child so guarded and trained is sure
to go right. Gods word is pledged, and
there can be no failure on his part. But
parents and teachers must practice as
well as preach. Can a profane man
teach his son reverence, or a lcentious
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