Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-04-26

,rng. In such cases, naOIts oi scii-c"nsu-
alton. and even those of obtrusive selfas.
rtion. are easily acquired by the parent, and
&c very difficult to break up. The child theh
lcounters obstacles and discOuragementS
hich would not have existed had tho DIS
pine been begun when the mind OF par
at was in n plant aud moldabic condition.
have occurred when. on account OF
,e intractable nature of father or Eiotber,the
lucation intended by the child has been en-
rely abandoned, and the parents allowed 10
Ike matters into their own hands, and gov
m the family rs 1t used to be done before
le new system came Into vogue. But 1t VIII
early alway. be found to be the case. In such
lslunres, that the idea, of the parent con-
erni;.g his rights and preroSatives IN ihe lam
: have been allowed to grow and take root
} al extent entirely incompatible with easy
emoval.
Tue neglect of early opportunities of as
uming control by the child who tfst enables
married couple to call themselves parents,
) not only often detrimental to Its ''wn
hances of holding the domestic reins, but It
l.o trammels to u great extent The action OF
ucceeding children. But n" youngster, no
natter bow many brothers and sisters may
lave preceded 1t, OF TO what exten. these may
ave allowed the parents to have their own
way, need ever despair Of assuming the oon-
rol which the others have allowed to elude
heir grasp. 1t Is not at all uncommon Tor
he Youngest child of a large family to b. able
o step to the front, and show to the others
low parent may be guided and resulated
~ the exercise of firm will and determined
lction.
II, as we have suggested, parental training
IS begun early enough, the child WIN and Us
needed by it; but in the case of DELAYED action
there is one point that should be kept in mind,
and that Is that sudden and violent measures
should, as far possible. be avoided. In
asny parents, when of. nded by child, to
administer q box to the culprit's ear. An un-
expected incident of this kind was apt 10
cause y sudden and tremendous change IN
The mental action of the Young person boxed.
His views of life ,his recollections OF the past,
his aspirations for the future, his ideas Of ma
ure, Of art, Of the pursuit of happiness, were
Ill merged aud blended Into one overwheim-
ing sensation. For the moment he knew
nothing on earth but the fact that he had been
.,oxed. From this pofnt The comprehension
f his own status among created things, his
understanding of surrounding circumstances,
md of cosmic entities In general. had u pc
lin anew. Whether he continued to he the
same boy rs before. or, diverging one way or
the other, became a better or y worse one,
was IA result not to be predetermined by any
known process. Now, 1t is not to be suppo>ed
that AMI ordinary child will undertaket to box
the ears of an ordinary parent, for the result
in such case might interfere with the whole
course of training then in progress; but there
IS mental box, quite rs sudden in It's actor,
and as astounding in its effect upon the boxed,
as an actual physical blow, and 1t Is no un'
ommon thing for child to administer such
Il form of correction. But the practice u now
rs dangerous as it used to be, and Us uncer-
tain of good result, and it is earnestly urged
upon the youth Of the aye to abolish It al
together. Ii parent cannot be turned from
the error Of his ways by any other means
| ter, II the thing be possible. to give him into
| the charge of some children other than Ais
! own, and let them see what they can do with
him.
ent to an animal so unintelligent a. horse:
but there arc times when child would hnd
| it to his advantage, and to that Of his pro-
genitor, 10 treat the latter IN the same man
uer as o sensible and cOnsiderate man treats
nervous horse. An animal OF this KIND,
when be sees by the roadside an obtrusive
object with which he is not acquainted, 10 apt
| to imagine it direful and ferOciOus creature,
such as used to pounce upon his prehistoric
ancestors, and to refuse to approach Its dan
yerous vicinity. ThereupOn the man in charge
of the horse, il he be person Of the charac.
ter mentioned above, does not whip or spur
the frightened animal until he rushes madly
past the terrifying illusion, but, quieting him
lby gentle word and action. leads him up to
the object, and shows him that 1t IL not q
savage beast, eager for horsetlesh, but an
empty barrel, and thut the fierce eye that he
believed 10 be gariDg upon him ls nothing
hut the handle Of u shovel protruding above
the top. Then the horse, II there Ia anv good
in him, will be content to walk BY that barrel
and the nc time h sees It will be likely to
pass 1t with perhaps but p hasty glance OF
Two to see that its natuEp/has not changed
and, in time, he will leafn that barrels, and
/, other things that he mat not have noticed be-
ter, because u wiser. horse. We know well
! THAT there are parents who, plodding along ii
quietly as any son or daughter could desire
will suddenly stop short al the sight OF some.
thing thoroughly understood and not At al
r disapproved Of by his offspring, but which
2 TO him appears as Objectionable and danger
ous as the empty barrel to the high strung
q horse. Now, let not the youngster apply th'
/ mental lash, and urge that startled and re
uctsnt parent forward. Better far II II TAXI
: understand that that which appeared TO hin
k o vision Of mental or physical ruin to younl
. person. or frightful obstacle IN the way O
It rational progress, 10 nothing but pleassn
e sous ought to like very much. or to which. q
/. least, they should have no objections. How
O many such phantasms will arise before par
: ent. and how necessary Is II for u child, II
u wish 10 carry OH without disturbance Its wor!
e of training, to get that parent Into the habt
;, If thinking that these things are really moth
u ing bu phantasms!
y when II becomes necessary to punish pal
= ent, no child should forget the importance 9
2 lemEerimg severity with mercy. The method
/. condition Of things was reversed. were gen
a orally of n physlcal nature, such as castigs
,f on, partial starvation, and restrictions In tn
I. pursuit Of happiness; but those now infIcte
+. by the children. acting ugon the men.sl na
= Iture Of the paren.s. are SO severe and hard I
E. bear that they should be used but sparingly
,e Not only Is there danger that BY undue seVel
:; ity an immed ats prOgeniior may be perna
i. nently injured, and rendered Of little Value I
c. himself aud others, but there Is sometimes
is reaction. violent and sudden, and u family
ID forced to gaze upon the fearful spectacle of
" parent at bay!
,e The tendency of a great portion of th
n youth who have taken the governing pow.
u. ,nto their own hands is to make but lit le Us
al Of It, aud to allow their parents to 60 the
Id own wuv, while they go upon theirs. Sue
s. neglect, however, cannot but be prtJudical
the permanency aud force Of the child-powe
IN While the young person IL pursuing cOurs
ne entirely satisfactory to himself, doing VIII,
re he likes, and leaving undOne what he dot
ty not like, the unnoticed parent may be con
>e cocting schemes of domestic infringement ell
he tlrelv Incompatible with the desires and plar
c. If his offspring and quietly building up oh
e. stacles which will be very difficult TO over
rs thi ow when the latter shall have observe
es their existence. Eternal vigilance Is not Onl
&C. tue price Of liberty, but IL IL also the price
lv supremacy. To keen ones self above anOtt
en- Ell er, it is necessary to be careful to keep thu
In other down. The practice Of some fathel
Iv add mothers of coming frequently to II
nd front, when their presence there is least eA
10 pected or desired, must have been noticed u
il many children who had supposed their pa
nd lents so thoroughly trained that they wOu
to not think of such = thing as causing troub
n and annoyance to those above them. pa
lie lent is human, and cannot be depended upC
en- to preserve always the same line Of actiol
is aud the children who are accustomed to s,
Il, their fathers and mothers perfectly obedien
is dOcie, and inOtfenslve. must not expect tn
of satisfactory conduct to continue II they ri
n. allowed 10 discover that guiding and col
ed trolling hand il not always upon thom. The
,st are parents, of course. who never desire
g. rise, even temporarily, from the inferior pos
iii tion which at the earliest possible period tht
Isl have assumed in their families. Such PEI
ot sons are perfectly safe; and when child pc
ty lceivss by careful observation that . parel
u belongs to this class, 1t may without fear r.
IS lax much of the watchfulness and disciplir
lie with merely indicating the path that 1t Is d,
ly sirable the elder person should pursue. Sue
C. parents are invaluable bOOns to an ambition
ty eners etic, aud Diasterful child; and If thel
Is, were more of them the anxieties, the pc
is pleAities, and the difficulties of the chilt
es power among US would he greatly amel
ld GRATED.
n Even when parents may be considered
ill be conducting themselves properly, and
We need no increase Of vigilant control, It Is O
ey ten well for the child to enter into their pu
90 suits. to see what they are doing, and, II
se should seem be.t, To help them do II.
To- course, the parents are expected to promo
r. and maintain the material interests Of Il
on family, and as their labor, beyond that nece
ar. sary for present necessities, Is generally u