Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1915-07-22

LECTURE ON !.
CHILD CONSERVATION
"What Constitutes a Modern
Good MOther?"
The following is a brief syn
opsis of the lecture delivered
by Miss Bump, the Child Con-
servation League Secretary, at
the Library Auditorium on
Tuesday afternoon.
Efficiency is the watchword
of the era. On every side we
hear it voiced among the ranks
of paid educators, and now at
last the mother is taking it up
and it is echoed back from ev-
cry modern home.
The spirit of Modern Mother
hood is the spirit of science and
of investigation as expressed
in the highest and hottest of
It's aspects. The Modern
Mother is not content to de.
pend upon blind and often mis-
taken instinct. She demands
scientific guidance-and she
finds it. She realizes her grave
responsibility, but she does not
forget the opportunity side of
Motherhood. She says, not
the least, but the best for my
child"
This modern mother "Some
times has a vision" "a vision of
her sons or daughters grown to
manhood or womanhood. In
fact, she holds before her this
vision Of the perfect man or
woman, and she builds toward
her ideal. But, she is not only
a woman of ideals, she is q wo-
man of action, believing, as one
of my college professors put it,
Every time you have a good
impulse and fail to act upon it
YOU are weaker than you were
BEFORE"
First of all, this modern good
mother takes hold of her own
character with q firm grip, de-
termined for her children's
sake to express in her life those
virtues she expects them to
emulate. Now, l have met
many modern good mothers,
and one of their earmarks is q
wonderful poise. We do not
find them Furnishing in anger,
as often as of old. Indeed, we
are learning more that corpor-
al punishment is an acknowl-
edgment of inefficiency on the
part of a parent or teacher,
and the old adage, "Spare the
rod and spoil the child" is fast
becoming obsolete. My inn
preston is the that most of the
wide awake parents Of the
preseflt- day--ere aware that
lfmastery is the first princi-
pie Of parental guidance.
Don't misunderstood mel
am not here to criticise the
mothers of yesterday bless
their hearts, they did the best
they knew how and in many
instances did wonderful work
with their children's character
but | am here to advocate in
the child's behalf the same sol t
of technical training for the
mother, who has the greatest
responsibility in the world, that
the teacher, the doctor and the
minister have always had.
We can never, never get
away from. the time-honored
virtues of obedience, reverence,
duty, self-reliance, in child
training. We are rather learn
ing to inculcate them more and
more deeply.
Nnwhere does the LIGHT
of this new day in moth
erhood shine more brightly
than in the present-day meth
DDS of holding children pure in
mind and body. Nowhere has
the spirit of progress brought
more abundant reward than in
the social purity aspect Of
child training. "By their
fruits We shall know them y
All, and | have SEEN the beau
tiful fruits of early training
and instruction along these
lines, where the mother, in
stead of answering the child's
first innocent questions with
subterfuge and evasion, gives
the beautiful truth and SO Holds
his confidence from the very
beginning. The League is fer.
tunate in having for it's presi.