Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-03-10
DUTIES OF A MOTHER
ESSENTIAL TRAINING THAT Is TOO
OFTEN NEGLECTED.

Woman and Social Purity-How .
Mother should Proceed to Protect Her
Children at n Time of Life When In
furious Habits May BE Formed.
The mothers first duty is not to feed and
clothe the bodies of her children, but to see
10 it before God that those bodies are kept
free from pollution-that the child is passed
over into self keeping, after n full maturity
of powers, without enlightenment or false
bias and unhealthy desires. The arrange
ments designed by nature are the best pos
sible-home, mother, father and slow de
velopment of the child. What could be
better planned? Yet we allow our parental
care to be outfanled by all sorts Of cor
rupting influences and home to he invaded.
II our houses are fortresses against law,
they certainly ought to be against lawless-
ness 1t is, am free to say, utterly mex
cusablc that our children shall be got at
by debasing influences We can prevent
it. and with wills of the right sort we shall
prevent it.
"What shall we do about itP' you say
"Shall we turn our houses into monster.
les and shut our children up in celsP'
Madam, your question is foolish and you
do not even desire to give yourself to true
child culture You are, | suspect, trying
to excuse your selflshness by asking non
sensical questions | have seen children
brought up with tenderest sympathy and
fully guarded against corruption; and yet
YOU would never have thought of calling
those homes prisons, iails, or monasteries
or nunneries. The only difference be
| tween them and other homes was that
there the first influence and effort was to
Il III
It WAS not the second or third purpose but
the first purpose. To that everything else
| bent. The result was most lovely and low
able characters and happy homes and sat,
| isfied parentaue
INSTRUCTION FROM MOTHER.
was recently in house of a different
sort-a home in which both parents truly
lonred for noble children; but the father
cared for business first and children second
and the mother attended to a half dozen
hosnitals and homes first and children sec
ond, The result was two children out of
six have come of unsoiled. and two are
very badly scared. and two are physically
, enereblpd by premature and false kuowi
edre picked ND loosely. Ualf of their edu
cation WAS away from parental control.
Excellent propie every way. except home
WAS not first in mind.
What sort of poliCecraft do you sug
gesty" None at ali for you. my dean WON
an. Won have evidently madeup YOUR mind
to n whole catalogue of lies. and argument
wopld be lost on Won. You would quote to
me ,'But the Child must see the world.
mist | ,uoty" And as soon as | had an
s,ver.d that there is every reason why Le
ebould uot SOP some mart of the world Won
v,oul1 beain ul-aiu with. "NEell. every child
must SOW, his wild oats.n Then [ should
savto Won that he must also rean what he
sows But Won would tell me at once that
if sbut nm nv children they will break
away as soon rs no,siblr. and 20 TO tho
hn1 as soon - r1t.ible and should nm
swer that do mon intend to net n nile,
but as mother ana that fin, question ne
5 tween us was one of extent of love AND
e,uardinnshin for Won also believe in a Ger
+ tain degree and Kind Of li,cin,;ne
Then Won would say "Rnt how shall ;
child ever know how to 90 into society il
kent.wkwarIlv when vouno5" And
would SAY. "Tbat is nousef.,r. for no chile