The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1895-05-30
SPEAK TRUTH
TO CHILDREN.
The PRACTICE OF HUEBUGGING
THEM IS BAD AND MAY
DO HARM.
Parents Can Satisfy the Curiosity Of
Their Children Without Tell
ing Falsehoods.
Norfolk Pilot.

Good parents should have in mind
that when child reaches the advanced
age of 4 years he usually begins tc
develop a natural passion for knowledge
This is a much more important stage
in his career than most people seem to
think. Once stife this early spirit oI
inquiry and you may do the child an
irreparable injury. The parent ha.
now the opportunity OF laying the
although the elementary knowledge
acquired by one SO young may appear
trivial and premature, it is really the
basis on which all his later education
is built up. More than this, it is the
habit of seeking information that is
necessary to encourage and stimulate.
Forced studies at too early an age are
greatly to be deprecated, but we are
always safe in letting the child learn
what it has strong desire to know.
And this desire or curiosity is the best
guarantee we could have that our in
| struction will receive close attention
and be impressed on the memory.
| shakespeare rule is a golden one, in
youth or manhood "No profit grows
where is no pleasure ia en- in brief, sir,
study what you most affect"
The questions which these youngsters
are perpetually springing on us are
often very extraordinary. One little
| fellow, short time ago, said to his
| father, GAS God can do everything, can
He make stone so heavy that He can t
| litti Many parents would have been
| puzzled to give satisfactory answer.
| The worst thing we can do in difficult
cases is to say, impatiently, don t
| bother me child ~ If you are ignorant
on the point submitted to you, it is
much better to say, frankly, "That is
one of the things your father doesn't
know Ask me something else, my
child"
But the great difficulty with most
people is to find way of answering
these questions that shall be ineligible
to the young mind with its scanty
knowledge and very limited vocabulary.
But with patience and perseverance it
can generally be managed. Take a case
IN illustration. Little Freddy has been
looking out of the window, and suddenly
asks his father, "What is snow, daddy?''
The father replies, ''Don't bother me
now. I'm reading" The big brother
home from school, comes to the rescue
"Snow is moisture in the air that has
been frozen into crystals in tempera-
ture of 80 degrees or lower"
The mother then breaks IN: Nv hat
is the use IN telling the child that stuff
Come here, Freddy, dear, Mother Carey
is plucking her goose and snow Is the
feathers" Later on, when the young
ster finds that snow is certainly not
feathers, he says to himself, mother is 8
stOrv-teller like the rest of us anc
moral influence is lost. If the system
continues, the child finds that he il
being hulnbugged and stops asking
questions-a convenient but deplorsble
state Of affairs.
Now, what that father should have
done is this He should have laid dowI
his book and said ''Well, Freddy, snow
is wet up in the air that gets frozen ane
falls down" He would then be asked
.What is frozen?" and would reply
; .'When anything gets hard and whit
with cold" If the question is then put
why does it fall down." a suitabl
reply would be, Because when 1t
: frozen it gets too heavy to stay up
5 Such answers as these would be intel
: ligible to every young mind, and al
though they are far from scientific
! they really leave nothing to be unlearr
: ed. And this Is the great point to b
+ always kept in view: do not teacn
I child anything that it will have
unlearn in after years. 1t IS Just 6
eas !, to tell him that the stars are sur
ever and ever SO far off, as to say tha
T they are holes in the sky for angels t
It peep through.
Il But on no account should a child