Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-07-12
BOYS.
Some Suggestions About Training Them.
IL

Some Suggestions About Training Them.
fProf. ii. L. Hooyer.I
In the nature of almost every boy
there are four powerful influences at
work, which tend, as they are slowly
used, to strengthen or weaken his moral
character, viz:
l. His restlessness, or desire to be
doing something, which is the cause of
many of his troubles (and his mothers
| also)
2. His great craving for companion
ship, and what he calls "fun, which
seems to he a necessity to most healthy
bows.
3. His fear of ridicule, which in many
boys is so great that they can be induced
TO sin against conscience and stomach
in order to escape it.
4. The desire to appear manly.
The boy carries these four Influences
with him always, and il is contest be-
tween us and Satan as to who shall con-
troll them, and the boys fate depends
much upon the issue of this contest. He
| is worth all the brayest efforts that can
be made in his behalf. He is worth
| more than all the gold or honor you can
win.
If you love him more than You love
these things and even than you love
yourself or your own case and comfort,
you can, with the Lords help, hold him
safe against "the world, the flesh, and
the devil" But YOU must be wise as
serpents." Too much restraint will
chafe and embitter. Too little is sure
to end in ruin.
You must make your child happy, for
1t is true that discomfort is the cause of
most of the wickedness IN the world
You must let him see that You eagerly
desire his happiness, and that he has
your warmest sympathies in his efforts
to find it. If he sees that you put off
his qualification to suit your own con-
venience, he will suspect your lack of
sympathy. If he sees you break your
promises to him, or grant him an in
diligence that you have said was i'm
proper for him, he will suspect your
sincerity. If he sees you guilty of
"make-believes, or false pretensions or
shams of any sort whatever, you have
lost his confidence and respect, and
may expect soon to lose his affection
and then to lose your hold on him.
Children are very close and shrewd
observers of human nature, and not
easily deceived Your only hope is
dealing honestly and sincerely with
them. But how shall you make them
happy? / have asked this question a
thousand times in school, and my an
swer is, by keeping them occupied in
pleasurable employments.
Boys love to play, and that is your
great last resort. But they also love TO
work, at things they can do specially
well. Then do you see to it, when you
give them work or lesson to Learn,
that you show them how to do it really
well, and then accept it as well done.
A school becomes FESTIVE and unhappy
whenever there is not enough work to
keep the pupils busy, or when they do
not know how TO do it, Lee all your
instructions and directions be clearly
stated, and do not cut out too much
work but insist upon having every task
that has been assigned fully and thor
| oughly executed.
You must make them your compan-
ions. The boy who is in love with his
mother and sister, and looks upon his
father as the very king of men, cannot
easily be won away from them. But he
must be met half way, for if he feels
that he is only tolerated rs a nuisance,
and feels himself charged with all the
| offepses that have been committed, he
will be powerfully tempted to meet
your expectations and make your bill of
indictment true one Make him feel,
at home, he is more than the prince of
| the blood, that his wants and wishes
are always worth considering, and that
even his opinion and good will are of
some worth. Knit him to you by ties
of kind that Satan cannot knit. You
have possession of the citadel why
should you he driven from it? 1t can
only be by your own fault. Loyalty to
You is deep rooted in your boys nature,
and if yon are wise and alert he cannot
be seduced from his allegiance to you.