The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1886-04-16
A word in Behalf Of little Girls.


sOh! no, DEAR" in Mortified accents.
But, mamma, Tom does. and want
to. Why can't /, mammal"
"Why, my dear, Tom is boy. Little
boys can do lots of things that ISN'T
nice for little girls to do. you know"
And this system, often begun in very
infancy is followed out till the girl
grows up into womanhood, either ac-
cepting her trammels rs matter of
course, or chatting vainly all the way
along, enyying her brothers, cherishing
deep-seaed grudge against old Dame
Nature, and having the thought which
one girl at least expressed when she
said; III fairly hate myself for having
been born girlr' Girls in heather
lands may well feel this, but when girls
in enlightened Christian countries feel
SO something in their training is awry.
Now, while it is true that O large girl
in many respects cannot do as large
Z boy does, and usually has no desire to,
it is also equally true with the excep-
tions admitted to all rules) that little
girl can do almost exactly what q little
boy can and she usually wants to
and further, if allowed to, she
generally will do it. If mothers will
guide instead of thwart this tendency,
it will be vastly to the benefit of their
girls and not at all to the injury of their
boys. There would seem to be no good
reason why the training and education
of girls and boys should not be essen
( tally identical up to a certain age. Be
not in too great hurry to impose upon
your little girl the burden of her sex.
She comes into the world little, happy,
free human being, caring not whether
she is boy or girl so long rs her di-
vine rights of food, love, and good
time generally are not denied to her.
God gives her life; do not you, because
she is a girl, curtail her liberty or for
bid her the pursuit of happiness in her
own and Natures wayP Things that
are ''nice'' for boy are mice for his
sister while both are little children.
Things that are 'proper" for healthy
active girl are usually just rs proper
for a healthy, active boy. 1t is mistaken
notion that certain roughnesses, a GER
tain disregard of the propricties, a GER
tain boisterous liberty, may be allowed
to our boys because they are boys, when
they are not permissible to our girls.
Would we have our girls rough and
bosterous, then? BY no means. And
just as little should we have our boys SO.
But we would have our boys strong,
athletic, fond of exercise; we would let
them run and climb, and even shout, if
the exuberance of their spirits demanded
it-all in the proper time and place.
We should not deny the same privi-
leges to our girls, SO far as their strength
= allows them to take them. Some forms
of exercise, to be sure, such us jumping
rope, running up and down stairs, and
the like, are to be deprecated for girls.
Many mothers and physicians think
them not desirable for boys. But if n
girl goes fishing with her brother; if
She can walk as unwearily; if she can
climb tree with as monkey-like facili-
ty; if she can drive nail straight with
out detriment to her fingers, and has a
Yankee dexterity with II jack-knife; il
in shooting she does not have to aim
behind her to hit something in front of
her-then she is both n useful and o
happy girl. She is laying up strength
against the evil days to come, when so
many women helplessly capitulate to
their NERVES" She is keeping bel
brother in a purcr and more refining
companionship than any afforded by
the rough village boys.-Ba6yhoOd.