The Washington herald., 1915-09-06


! There is 4 certain stage in a girls
development when her clothes are the
chief subject of heT thoughts. Every
member of our Mothers Club who has
a daughter has suffered or will suffer
! from this o0session on the part Of
that raughter. At the very outset of
our talk today. l want o say. as iE-
/ pres: iv";y as I can, that this period is
often III" breaking point betw weer
mother and daughter. The mother who
has forgotten her oTu youth, who
docs not try to put herself in her
daughters place to get the young girl
point OF view, is going 10 make a
mess OF things" in rearing her child
unless the child has far more strength
of character than the mother.
l admit il is discOncer'in,s to find
that Your girl, who has always ac-
Cepted your taste in choosing her
clothes as final. who has been indir-
ferent about the color, make ard nit
of her dress. has now suddenly de-
velopcd a mind of her own about il
and no longer likes the things YOU
select. Perhaps she even tells You how
very fashioned you are and ridi
CuleS your ideas as most unaccept-
able by the wcll-dressrd people of
today. What are you gong to do
anCut il when that experie ice comes
20 you. as inevitably it will if your
girl is 4 normal human being?
i good letter from one OF our mem
bers who signs herself B. J. A. tells
of the struggle she had with herself
before she yielded as gracefully as
she could and let her daughters work
out the salvation of their own :aste.
She writes:
Dear Aunt Chatty: think having
children to bring up is the best edu-
cation one can possibly get. Since l
have he"n learning how TO train my
three little ones. two girls and hoy.
| have had to get Self-ContrOl. first of
all: but now ! am finding out that
don't know anything at all. and l
read somewhere the other day that
Won do not begin your education until
you find that out,
I want to thank you for your good
letter about letting the girls choose
thalr own clothes When | wrote YOU
was all al outs with my girls
through not seeing that they were
no longer babies to have everything
done for them by me. l knew they did
not have good taste in buying for
themselves and did not know a thing
about economy in buying. and so |
went right on making them wear tho |
things | liked. never asking them IL
they liked them too. After | got your !
letter telling me to remember that
they are individuals s well as ] am. |!
and that they can only learn by their |
mistakes. just as everybody must, I
made up my mind to let them begin |
to do things for themselves. We had |
been planning to get new school |
dresses for them. and | told them |
they could go down town and buy |
hem without me if they wanted TO. |
Of course they were surprised and not
n little pleased. They went, and the |
older one did pretty well. hut the !
goods the younger one brought home I
is a sort of watermelon pink in color |
and a poor quality Of foulard. 1t won't /
wear well. l am afraid. and it is very /
to her. hut l am going |
to make il up and let her see how ii |
does for herself. II will he hard to ,
keep still about it. though"
was pleased that this mother should |
so readily see the injustice she was
doing her girls in insisting upon rul- !
ing every detail of their personal az ,
our clothes are the most .
of all our personalities, are ,
they not? l was amused. too. for il
recalled an experience of my own
when my Harriet was small. | had ,
always allowed my girls to use their
own taste about their wearing apparel.
wearing her hair in what was then ,
known as a roach comb. she was sent |
to the store to buy one for herself
TO replace a broken one.
She came home with a celluloid !!