The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1909-05-14
BOSS THE BABY

Every woman knows that The surest and quickest way oil
making her best woman friend her worst enemy is to tell that
friend how to take care OF her baby. Young mothers, as
every grandmother will tell you, are especially sensitive upon
this subject
As this editorial attempts to give mothers some advice
upon the subject of baby training, it may as we'll be admitted
that i is written by an uncertain hand, guided to the task only
by the desperate courage OF dcepscatcd conviction. Women
readers who disagree with these utteraures may be able to Tor
give on the ground that there are exceptions to the rule OF
bad mothers land Of course they are the e%Neeptionsl, and
anyway the editor is a man who only thinks he knows
The average young mother, through her great and nat
IRA love for her baby, permits Il to play the tyrant over her
II is a babe full Of health and spirit, and It proposes to boss
the household. 1t knows what 1t wants and u cries and
beats its arms and scratches It's mothers face and pulls her
hair until It gets what it wants. When it gets what 1t wants
II wants more. and there is MOTE yelling, more beating
scratching and pulling. Babies know that day is the time to
sleep and night the time to play abroad. lnstnctiyely they
are aware Of the fact that it is much nicer to be carried than
to walk. and 10 be iiggled beats standing still,
Young mothers take the cares entaied by baby's williul.
ness lightly for a time. In the foolish idea that they arc doing
their duty they consent TO pick the ball up from the teot
90 times a minute for baby to throw down again. And II the
little dear is going to cry like that he'll get the other hall Of
the banana which, Of course, he shouldn't have at all. Aud
these slave mothers will walk for miles, until their feet drag
from WEAKNESS, Just to please the little scamp, who would be
better off II he were allowed to kick about on the bed.
But there comes a time when these cares weigh on the
foolshiy indulgcnt mother. She finds wrinkles in her face
that should not be there. Her shoulders arc dropping and she
Is losing the great feminine asset-beauty. Can she stop nowf
Not without heroic measures. She has trained her baby to
wifulness. She has ~pampered him in his every within. She
has all but spoiled his character. He has bossed SO long that
be finds ii hard to mind. And. what is gainedl
The so-called scientific method OF baby training seems to
be the sensible method. An infant is taught to sleep at night
OF course there is a nerye-raeking, hearttearing night when he
doesn't want to go to bed and cries his little head half off when
the light IS turned down and he is left TO have it out with him
sell. But he does not have to learn this lesson twice, and
when it is all over once there is an end OF 1t. When the baby
learns that he can have some things and other things he cannot
have. he will be just as eon,en, as when he has learned that he
can have everything he cries for. A baby can be trained
easily enough il common sense is applied. The mother who
permits her judgment to be overcome by her complete love
and devotion is doing herself an injustice and her baby a harm
Anyhow, a man thinks that this is true.