Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-18
Self Control and
the Modern Child

How much self-control has the mod
ern American child? The national adj
5ective is advisedly used. for most of
us are ready to admit that children Of
many other countries, especially of
England, have more self-contro1 than
ours of America. French men and
women may not have perfect control:
they are excitable and impulsive. But
even French children have at least a
habit Of repression and obedience which
seems like self-control.
AS a nation We spoil our children.
Which means that we usually pamper
them; give them their own way and
fail to develop their will to master
themselves.
We are wont to think that the rich
pamper their children. They do. but
80 do the poor. And perhaps the
middle-class parents are the worst Of
tenders of all At all events. practi-
cally nine-tenths of our American chill
dren send up the daily wall. Il don't
want to go yet" when the summons to
bed occurs. And they send this up day
pered. They have grown to think that
they can do what they want to do.
A well-to-do woman with a large
family employs an English goVerness-
a woman of education and character
who has enough executive ability to
make a success in many lines of work.
She considers the training Of some half
dozen young children as sufficiently I'M
portant, however, and to that she gives
her life. Her greatest endeavor is to
Later on, when they come into their
Inheritance Of wealth, of social posi-.
ton, of Importance In the world or
politics. finance and business, they Will
hat nj r q q
creditably, she argues. II they are able
to master themselves.
Like many others, this English gov
erness considered the daily wrangling
over the bed hour-which Is only typ
ical of the pampered child's attitude
toward most Of the everyday occur
tsgins to 10 the he child as Well as to its
Each evening the child who protests
against going to ned becomes s4 0n,
crafty and deceitful in inventing ex-
cuses for staying up. Moreover. the
wrangle that ensues Is wearing on the
So, when she took charge Of the
children under her care she told them
that she would never remind them to
to bed Ta ser s they Syo he
were clocks all over the house. II they
knew their bedtime and could read the
hands of the clock, there was no ex-
cuse for staying up minute over
time.
If they stayed up fve minutes after
bedtime, the next evening they must
go to bed Ave minutes earlier. If they
stayed up ten minutes or longer they
must double this time and add 1t to
| the next nights bedtime. That is, If
they stayed up fifteen minutes after
bedtime one night they must go to bed
| half an hour earlier the next night.
Despite doubts expressed by the
children's parents. the plan, worked.
| The children came to regard bedtime
| as a matter of course And SO their
| own nerves and temper were saved
much wear and tear. Moreover, they
| had learned the lesson of accepting
the inevitable without useless COM
plant: they had learned the value of
regularity Of living. they had learned
| to discipline themselves
| II the governess had once wavered
after making the bedtime rules she
would have had to begin all over
again with children who had found
that she was not inhexible. But she
| never did waver. She never excused a
child for lateness. She never forgot
the early-to-bed punishment which fol-
lowed the night after the breaking OF
rules.