Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-02
SEEDS S0WN IN CHILDHOOD,
The Tendency of Parents to Encourage
Their Little Ones TO Say Cutting Things
Results in n Harvest of Tares-The Man

The Tendency of Parents to Encourag &c
Their Little Ones 10 Say Cutting Thing.
Results in n Harvest of Tares-The Man
Who Dislikes Everybody.
WHAT is dearer to the human heart than an
infant? What is sweeter to the parent
than the childish prattle of baby, and what is
more delicate than the fairy-like touch of its
velvet fingers? Happy is the house that has
| one in it.
| Ii babies would only stay babies and continue
their loving ways. what blessing they would
| be; but, alas! time passes, and the innocent
baby soon becomes sharp observer. an invet-
| crate talker and retailer of conversations not
intended for repeating. Longer words. am
! biguous phrases hieroglyphics, innuendo mods
| and blinks gradually come into use, but he
| soon sees the meaning of them and startles the
| family by not only understanding what is going
| on; but by reading the very thoughts and then,
| oh! what q smart child!
At that period of q child's life commences his
| making or his destruction. Then is his INTEL
| Iect keenest, ms wits shaTpest, his Wafch1u:-
| ness and observation all agog. He criti-
| cses everything and everybody and the
| innocence of his babyhood is destroyed
| by an encouraged smartness or tendency
| to say smart things which eventually touches
persons, and make pert comparisons and pre-
cocious criticisms. very often al the expense of
some PERSONS feelings. The innocence of
childhood is soon perverted and its beauty de-
stroyed by this tendency. Children soon find
they amusing older folks. and they are not
slow to find out the mental calber of their
audience.
Z RITICIsM in childhood leads to cynicism in
maturity and to scornfuness in old age,
| without a thought of friendship or a feeling of
charity for anyone, inspiring dislike, avoid
ance. distrust in the minds of old and young,
| rich and poor, and fear and hatred i'll the
minds of the weak. Criticism and cynicism
are entirely different terms. Intelligent criti-
cism in those who have the knowledge of what
they speak is a corrective of the mind and of
wrong and is healthy while cynicism is often
malice or desire for sport, which often causes
thoughtlass remarks which destroy happiness
and frequently even life itself
Parents and the rest of man and womankind
think it smart TO hear the child say that he
don't want 20 go to heaven if grandpa is going
there; or if he refuses the embraces OF the
aged. which most children inclined to do
or if he critcises the visitors at the house,
whether IN their hearing or not, or when he de-
rides the pastor while coming home from
church. These things sound very funny at the
time and show the witness of the child, but
the time is surely coming when it will send
shiver through the parents thoughtless souls.
when they behold their child growing up and be-
coming an incurable, heartess critic, often
bringing the blush of shame to their cheeks
and causing no end of remorse at the thought
that they encouraged the child and were the
direct cause of the cold cyncism their own
dealings with it have brought out in their own
homes. 1t don't sound so funny then. But it
is too late to change the nature of the child,
and as he has been taught SO he will be.
THE inpish school girl of l5 is very distress
ing creature at home and abroad if she only
knew it, but she never appears to think so. She
can make more misery at school among deli
cate, shrinking, homely. homesick or poverty
stricken girls than can be spoken or dreamed
Of She can give twist of her pert nose or
SCOrnful from
her cold, unfriendly, hostile eyes that would
make many girls change into statues of crys-
tallized homesickness, or wish that the earth
might open and swallow them.
And SO with boys, i'll measure, but different
ly. They have not the keen, cutting. razor
edged tongue which many girls have and use
gallantry they would not use it on the other
sex. By their intuition they know that the
other is the weaker vessel. But they
have another kind of devilment about
them which is almost equally hard to bear.
Openly are the clothes of new students criti-
cised. Their manner of speech, their personal
appearance the size of their hands. their feet,
nose, mouth. ears, eyes. their religion. their
allowed to associate with their malicious critics
for long time. until they fight their way into
fame and recognition. But one thing is sure,
the chief of their tormeDtors will be always re-
membered with fierce unfriendliness which
will only die with time. The gifl and the boy
who thus think of making themselves great
school gate. will one day be those who will
aspire to sit upon the top of the fence and crush
all who are beneath them.
HEARTLEss criticism. by both boys and girls,
causes more misery among themselves
than any other cause during their school lives.
During the time in which their characters are
forming an evil influence in their midst, like
merciless, heartless critic or Hector, will in
jure them more than whole life time of moth
er's influence can correct or balance.
AS the child grows up he increases in that
very disagreeable habit of mocking or critics.
ing until his own companions Shun him; until
his own family are annoyed by him; until no
one wants to eat, sleep or go with him. because
of his annoying propensity to maliciously. un-
truthfully and heartlessly ridicule or critIcise
the actions, the appearance, the clothes or
other attribute of some unfortunate. No one
likes him. all are afraid of him. and he has no
close, true warm friendships; but as he grows
slight him. They avoid him or become
silent and distant at his approach,
until he gradually becomes sullen and suspi-
cious himself and becomes more malicious be-
cause he knows of his unpopularity. He don't
try to undo what he has done, and make him
self more loved and respected, but he gradual
ly works himself into feeling of dislike for
everybody; he finds something wrong in every
persons life. He sees dishonorabe motives in
everything going on about him. Everything he
sees is wrong, and everything he hears is false
manner, and all that he reads is atrociously
wrong and excites his utmost Indignation.
II GRowLS at the weather, whether hot or
cold. He thinks it sent especially to
thwart his intentions. He growls at his meals
and at the servant who got them. He finds
fault with his wife and family. The
rugs are not laiu right and he falls
over them. The rocking chairs are out
of place and he barks his shins |
on them; he lights the fire and raises the man-
tel on his head when he gets up; he hangs |
curtain and falls Off the stepladder; he walks
around the house in the dark and embraces a
door: ne goes to the cellar and bumps his head; |
he goes on the street and gets run over, or a |
steer chases him, dog bites him, or the rain |
drenches him. and everything he does or every |
where he goes misfortune toys with him:
''Dsaster on disaster |
Follows fast and
Follows faster.''
LIE THINKS that everything has been spe- |
cially set up to do him an injury; that "all |
of the world and the balance OF mankind' is
engaged earnestly in an attempt to throttle