Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-24
THE uNINrEREsrINe BOY.

His subjects bend before him, too,
I'm one of them-God bless him.
THE UNINTERESTING BOY.
The following plea for the uninteresting
boy was suggested to me not long since
and is worthy the attention of all mothers:
Our boys, if they are unattractive and
uneouth, contain the material of which
the manhood Of the next generation must
be made, and the mother who finds her
children at this formative period "unin-
teresting" and therefore, through neglect
and Indifference, lose their influence over
them, have much to answer for if this
manhood turns out to be of poor quality.
Two young mothers were one day follow
ing with their eyes the movements of
tiny girl three years old. "What an in
teresting age" said the mother of the
little girl; "but how some children out
grow it. My boys are Just as uninterest-
ing as they can be-" The other mother
heard this statement with much surprise.
and looked with more than common inter-
est ever after at the two little boys that
had ceased to be interesting to their
mother
There is no doubt that many people of
both sexes agree with the speaker and
pass by the boy of s or II, or OF age rang
ing between these figures, with an indiffer-
ence that is not only peculiar and pa
thetic, but is hard to understand.
Suggestive as may be the interchange of
thought between our babes and ourselves,
fascinating as it is to watch the growth of
intellect, and to get answers to the ques-
tions, what are your thoughts, my baby?"
@'What in the world of sense has most i'm
pressed youp "Are you like papa, like
mamma, or like some one else?" These
same questions asked of the intelligent
boy of 10 will receive answers that are full
of enlightenment and that will even in
duce thought. To be content with OBJ
servation of infancy and of early childhood
alone is to be satisfied with the we'll
sounding title of a book, and to give no
heed to the wisdom of its pages.
GENTLENEss AND PATIENCE
Are the qualities greatly needed by the
mother of a boy. She might be helped
by the politeness and good example of
others, but often she is called to sympa-
thize with her son on account of affronts
offered to him by his superiors. 1t is no
uncommon experience Of boy who goes
on an errand. and will make his wants
known and pay his mcney quite as readily
as his father would, TO be met in the store
and office with salutation that would
chill the marrow in his bones, If he is a
timid boy not well padded with flesh.
"Here, boy, get out of here! What do you
want, anyway" are brutal words and ought
never to be used.
Many boy often exhibits in his daily
life many qualities that ought not to be
measured by the same high standard by
which grown-up virtues are measured.
Awkwardness and noise are to be expected
noise, because healthy boy cannot live
without it; boy that is growing so fast
that his hands and feet seem larger at
dinner than they were at breakfast cannot
be expected to handle a knife and fork
with grace, and the lengthening feet may
hit against the chair or table legs without
conscious sin.
There are weiehty questions surging up
within these undeveloped brains. A
question asked by mother at bedtime,
a tender hour that true mother will
court as bit of life well lived, if spent
with her children, will sometimes reveal
startling clearness and depth of thought.
Such a question should be answered seri-
.ously and sincerely. Mother" said one
of the boys ten years old, to the mother
of whom he dared ask any question or
eonfide any matter of interest to himself
"Mother, often ask myself what we are
living for, anyway? Does God keep us
for pets, as we do cats and dogs, or does he
like to see fighting going on, as boys do
sometimes p On another occasion, after
hearing conversation regarding church
debt and those having no voice IN con-
tracing it being obliged to pay, the boy
said: mamma, | think it wrong for a
church to get into debt. II is like firing
off gun on some people you don't know
anything about"
To say boy like this land he is no ex-
ceptional one) is not interesting, that he is
not capable of appreciating gentle treat
norance blissfully assumes, that black and
white are exactly the same.
MOTHERS TRIALS.
Not the least of the trials that the
mother has to contend with is outside in
reference. 1t begins before the baby
comes, and SAYS, IF | were you | would"
and sslf | were you / wouldn't" with
wearying chatter which has the form but
lacks the spirit of true advice. Also it
SAYS. not infrequently "Do you dare TO do
that ?" with disappearing emphasis quite
indescribable After the nurse has gone,
and the mother, distrustful of herself, and
l. J.~t,,~l<.l hx foar faEQc
the sweet burden of care and goes about
what will henceforth be an unceasing duty.
then begins, "Don't you feed your baby
ANYTHING ?" "Does he sleep with your
"Dont you dress it too warmly y and SO
on indefinitely. A more serious thing Is
the meddling with a mothers discipline.
While the mother is sometimes not lniai-
lible here, it is better that she makes mis-,
takes than that she be by Others moved
from that course OF action which she be-
lieves is for her childs good. The intel
lieent. conscientious mother will probably
find her wav through her mistakes to bel
ter thinking and wiser ways.
There are plenty of unthinking people
who do not hesitate to demonstrate, and
suggest. and make excuses for the childish
DELINQUENT in the presence of the little
offender. A child out visiting IS perhaps
cautioned by parents not to touch certain
articles ofadornment; instantly the hostess
will say: "Why, let him have 1t. You
can take it il you want it, dear" The
embarrassed mother will need nerve if she
insists that he cannot have it, when insist
ing may seem ungracious. Again, at
meals it is often fact that she must combat
the pleadings of every individual at the
table if she decides 10 deny her child some
article that he would like, bat which she
feels would be hurtful. Illustrations
might be multiplied. Ordinarily, no one
bnt parent knows child from first to
last. and what that child's needs as TO in
diligence and discipline are. Except in
rare instances, no outsider has right TO
influence a parents decision. Unobtrus-
iveiv, as may be, but above all firmly,
parents shonld exercise the privilege
which is theirs by divine right, OF doing