The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1893-10-04
a MOTHERS TALK TO MOTH.
Frs.

some ueie ago, says v. Y. kc0rder
writer. read an article in a household
paper on the cruelty of putting children
% BED alone in the daTk. To my mind
the cus.ty consists in sFcr ai,12ins g
c1il b. p AFRAID ci t1sdafk. lfasiflv
aslzs has tfi tterei hi1i sns7 J. ius stul
p siosiesof te-iss AMI ozgss. Sc would hs
cTuel sui ulrs sss G, foIue him to hsht
la .csr1-s a.vue. nat a properly brought
- balr caa ts made % ENJOY the night
As q tine % look for the beautiful noon
and stars and TO love his bedtime hour.
Among my small friends there isa
striking evidence OF what can be done ia
that line A baoy OF 8, who, when al
lowed on some special occasion to SIT up
beyond his bedtime hour Of O'Clock,
soon asks 10 be put TO bed. No matter
what the destinations Of the hour, 50
strong.is the habit and 50 perfect IS his
constitution from sensible treatment that
he cheerfally bids everyone good night,
and, when he is comfortably tuckered in
his crib, says "Please do out now and
sat the door"
Some allowance must, Of course, be
made for tempenments, but judiciOus
training and treatment can bring up any
sancly constituted child without fear Of
darkness. The trouble With grown peO-
pie is that they do not give children cred-
it for halfthe sense which they possess,
and so tell them any silly story TO make
the passing moment easier for them
selves.
TRAINING BABIES To oBEY.
The old-fashioned yirtue Of obedience
is not inculcated toanything like the de-
gree that it should be for the health and
happiness Of the child. This is one Of
the fir.t lessons. too, although parents
rarely realize IT, 4 baby who will not
mind you at 3 months viii not DO 50 ats
years or at any subsequent peuod. One
Of the commonest experiences Of every
mother is % haze her child cry when she
leaves H. ] once knew e mother IN such
thalIdom that il she lrt the room % 70
into the next her 2-year-old boy ST up
howl This is natural Instinct, and
loving one think. bat Que that can b.
trained. Another mother. whose baby
probably loved Der, quite as muchin-
stead Of slipping out un05served. rsed 70
sit down before leaving the house and
holda long conversation with Ter year
and-a-haif OLD boy, explaining TO him
where she vas going. why it was necessa-
~ 70 20 and what she was going for, all
this in terms suited 20 his baby eompre-
hension. A few sessions Of this kind
and the custom Of mammals going out
became established, and his baby mind
grasped that when she did 50 it was all
right.
Children reason at a much earlier age
than is generally believed. The obedi-
eRce Of this same boy, who is now nearly
3 years old, is a matter Of wonder among
all his friends. If he is disappointed in
the matter Of a row or ride or feast Of
ice cream, a sensible reason for the dis
appointment is given him and he reigns
himself 70 the inevitable in a manner
worthy Of a Spartan.
As TO ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
In the matter Of answering questions
We growu-oaes often DO children seriou
wrong. Ofcourse, no philosopher lives
wise enough to answer the countless
why's Of these peripatetic interrogation
points. But simply saying honestly that
you DO not know, or IN some instances
assuring him that he is too young to un-
derstand, and putting the eager little
mind of with careless or a friyOlus
answer, are two very different things.
On subjects that yoa are, but ought
not to be, ignorant OF, one Of the plainest
duties Of fathers and mothers is to see TO
It that they possess themselves Of ncees-
sary information, but when the small
philosopher comes 20 you with big, grave
earnest ewes. ani a bigger, graver and
more earnest questions that you are oy no
means tit 10 grsPp,e with be brave enough
to tell him that you DO not know, bns
that some day you and he vii! read AMI
fad out when he is oiier. Then help
,he little D.ind to unbend By giving him
some simple task to do, or by telling him
some fairy story, for it is not well foryOnng
minds 10 reach out too far. l once over
heard boy of ask his mother who she
thought had had the greater and better
influence On his generation, Napoleon or
Cesar? It's needless to say that this boy
died young. Let nc parental vanity lead
you to foster precoeity in a child. Make
him healthy, bedieut, loving little ami
nal first. train his Intellect later.