Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-01-17
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.

Mistakes That Are Too often Made By
Parents In Their Training.
From the time the infant has an in-
dependent existence it has independ-
ent, inherent, inalienable rights, GUS
tom and popular belief to the contrary
notwithstanding.
It would cause no little merriment
in certain families in this land if some
one were to assert that the baby had
rights that the parents were bound to
respect.
''The idea Of the baby being an indie
pendent citizen!' was the contemptu-
Gus remark of a parent when this as
sertion was made. "Why, the little
thing has no sense, strength or the
capacity to provide for even one of its
wants.
''That may be very true" was the
reply; "but, all the same, that does
not affect the rights of the child. If
you were a hopeless, helpless invalid.
able only to feel, perhaps to see, and
were waited on and cared for as this
tiny scrap of humanity is, you would
yet possess all the rights that you do
now, and your child has precisely as
many as you would have under the
same circumstances"
Because it is his child, many a man
thinks that the little one has no right
to an independent thought or wish.
Parents often delight to tyrannize
over their children. They are the only
beings in the world over whom they
can exercise absolute authority, and
this privilege is inexpressibly sweet to
them. Not infrequently they become
angry, exasperated, worried. enraged
at some injustice that they may suffer
at the hands of the outside world, and
| go home frantic with a desire to vent
their wrath upon something or some
body.
Children are almost always trying,
many times extremely aggravating,
and it needs but a word to set the
parents off as a spark of gunpowder.
Thousands of children are injured for
life because somebody has trampled
upon what the parents consider their
rights and privileges in the outside
world. Every human soul, as soon as
it takes its place in the ranks of NOR
tality, has right to good treatment,
the ordinary necessities of life and as
many of the comforts as the means OF
There is a wide difference between
sensible, well-directed lIberality and
indulgence. A prodiga1 waste of the
good things of this world should never
be tolerated in child or adult. The ole
adage that Waste makes want is one
of the truest sayings that ever obtained
currency in any language, therefore,
among its other rights, the child is en-
titled to instruction as to how to make
the best use of the things it possesses
or is some day likely to possess Tt
throw young person upon the worlC
in ignorance of the ways of mankind
to beQueath to it large possessions anC
give it no idea of the proper way t.
care for them, to lavish gold and gift
upon it all it's days and withhold from
it the training and discipline that arr
among the most important of arma
n.ents against misfortune, are to de
Erive it of right that will handicap i
all through life. Parents will hav
learned a great lesson whel they come
to fully understand that it is as mucl
their duty to establish their offsprin,
in the rights that naturally belong t
them as it is to feed them when the
are helpless and hungry. Indeed, i
would be better for the community an
the child itself that it We're starved i
it's cradle than to be turned loose upo
the world without the protection {
knowledge and the ability to INTEL
gently exercise those faculties tina
, lead it to provide for itself and thos
who. in due time, will become depend
emit upon tn. Y Ledger