The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-03

voice. 81 taught them to obey me.
versed, and children train their pa
rents to obey them. To think that 1
should live to see such disobedient
grandchildren"
The listener was silent. for she
knew that this woman had ruled her
children with an iron hand, and that
not one of them had ever dared to
question her dictatorship while under
her roof.
She knew, too, that when they fin
ally went into homes of their own it
was with but little individuality. It
vas. therefore, not strange that in
dealing with their own children they
should have adopted the extreme
measure of over-indulgence.
There is happy medium between
the two systems, and children can be
trained to habits of obedience with
out crushing their individuality, pro-
vidng the training is begun early
enough. AS an instance of this sort,
the following is interesting:
Case of James and Mary.
James and Mary had drinking mugs
SO nearly alike that only by certain
marks could the children distinguish
between them. On one occasion,
when there was company for dinner.
as soon as all were seated, James
made a vigorous protest against drink
ing from his sisters cup, which had
been set before him by mistake Not
being able to quiet the child, who took
advantage of the presence of guests,
the mother excused herself and re-
tired with him to an adjoining room.
The guests expected to hear an out
burst from the child, but nothing of
the sort occurred, and a few moments
later the mother returned leading a
quiet boy by the hand. He was in
stalled again in his place, where he
finished his dinner in silence, drinking
out of the despised mug without a
suggestion of pouting.
The next morning. when all were
seated at the breakfast table. James
looked around with the blandest of
smiles and piped out, Mother, I'll
drink out of anybody's cup this morn
ing"
One of the guests, who had been
inclined to criticise the mother men
tally the night before for permitting
the child to return to the table mar
veled at the result of the discipline,
and later on questioned the mother,
who explained her method
Don't Believe in Whipping.
Whip him? Certainly not We do
not believe in whipping. He has a
strong will, which has to be dealt with
gently, but firmly. Last night 1 said
to him very gravely, when we reached
the sitting room, I am sorry, my little
boy does not love me- Instantly his
arms were about my neck, and
thought it WAS hest IN b11Y I1;,,-
little for his conduct by taking him
back to the table You know the rest. -
The training of this child began al
4 his birth, for the mother believed that
she must begin early to direct proper
ly the will of her baby, which was any
thing but flexible.
Even tiny infant soon learns to dis
criminate between the bed and its
mothers arms, and cries to be taken
up, often awaking from an apparently
sound sleep the moment it is laid in
the crib.
If child is taught to obey from the
hrst, he never knows what it is to dis
obey. 1t never enters his mind that
there is such thing as disobedience.
Naturally, he will try to have his own
way. He would not amount to much
If he did not. Docility usually indi-
Gates one of two things-lack of char
acter in child, or a good deal of
character in the guardian. If both in
dlVidualitieS are strong, this means
mat there must be a mutual yielding.
II child is permitted by a soft
hearted mother to have everything he
hoWls for, he will become a self-will-
ed tyrant ruling by kicks and screams
and outbursts OF temper. which are
j torerunners of the misery in store for
him and his family
The Secret of Training.
horse trainer, who has had re-
markable success in breaking high
pred young colts, replied, when asked
the secret of it, that he had never used
whip. He rules by kindness alone,
ana the horses are all fond of him.
sometimes they have spells of OBJ
stmaoy. When they do, instead of
trying to break their will, which he
knows would be disastrous, he calmly
waits until they come around to his
way of thinking.
This is the policy which many wise
mothers have now adopted in dealing
with their children. There is no
mother who wants a child with a
broken, vacillating will which has
been acquired by brute force. Nor
should any right-minded mother think
OF her child as a rebel, just because
the stir of individuality, which COM
pens MN to. assert himself, seems to
her unreasonable. So it is, but it is
also indicative of the awakening of
ms intelligence, which needs to be
trained with tact and delicacy.
The despotic mother saps her
paby's fingers in order to bring his
VIII under subsection to her own. 1t
hurts her to do so, and it breaks the
pabys heart. Later, when babyhood
Is past she switches him to teach him
TO be obedient. Strange to say even
his is not always effectual any more
man is the rawhide on the horse. This
the rule of law under an autocrat.
Mother Must Control Herself.
But the mother who rules by love
Knows that, first of all, she must be
Soe to control herself. She thinks it
Is absurd to meet temper with tenn
per for that will surely fan the spark
70 flame. She knows, too, that It
VIII be best for her not to show resent