The Washington herald., 1916-01-05

Dear Aunt Chatty." one Of our
members recently wrote to me-
want to ask you about something you
said some time ago about getting
a child to do things by pretending ne
was somebody other than himself
have such a terror Of telling them
anything but the truth. the whole
truth and nothing but the TRUTH ana
l thought your plan might not pc
carrying out the strict truth Win
them, so I thought I would ask you
TO explain a little more clearly Just
what YOU would advise US to DO In
that way. Please don't think l am
critical-I am asking for informa-
ton"
am always glad to have our moth
ers question anything 1 say ana ask
for further explanations, because We
need all the discussion we can get
about all our problems. What l have
said many times to the members or
mothers clubs is that an appeal to
child's Imagination is powerful
stimulus to his moral nature. The
Imagination of child is always eN-
ceedingly vivid: he loves stories and
tales of all kinds, and the more
primitive the tale the stronger its ap-
peal When the world was young
every body loved tales, grown-ups as
well as children, as we may learn from
the vast collections of the folk-tales
OF various nations being compiled by
the students of language all over the
world. 1t is pity in our time to hnd
go many people holding a feeling akin
10 contempt for the Imagination as 49,.
influential faculty of the mind. Like
The mother who wrote this letter, many
persons think Imagination is in
measure related to untTuth. My claim
Is that il is nothing of the sort, but
a gift of the gods themselves, to be
cherished and cultivated by every
means in our power both in our chill
dren and in ourselves.
The more imaginative a mother her
self is the better able will she be to
understand her children and there
fore the better able to control and
Influence them in all they do. The
mother who does this as well as any
have ever known is a little woman
who lives in New York town l visit
ed during the fall l was entertained
in her .hOme-entertained delightfully."-,
for / was made to feel as il l be
longed" to the same degree as any
member of the family. My coming and
going made no difference in the family
arrangements and l did not put any
body to any inconvenience at any
time. At the same time, when l was
there, the intimacies of family life
were L
explain how 1t was that l saw so
much of that mothers management
of her children, a loving, gentle, kind
Iy method that we all might copy to
advantage.
As 1 came in from one of our club
meetings rather late one afternoon,
the mother ran through the hall ana
up the stairs with the youngest child,
a boy of three, in her arms. She
e. ND
ing "Gid ap. there" as vociferously
as IL she were a small boy herself.
The two other children followed at
her heels, and as they passed me the
one called out:
Look out, there, we're the am
'bIance! I'm the inferno and when
mother gets to the hospital I'm going
to put the witch hazel on Herbert's
head. He fell down and bumped 1t
hardi"
In curiosity I followed the am
'blance to the Hospital" which turn
ed out to be the medicine closet in the
bathroom and watched the application
of witch hazel by the young "interne"
on some absorbent cotton held in the
hand of the ambulance" The bump
had been a hard one, evidently, for a
big lump had risen on the little fore
head, but in the interest created by
the ride in the ambulance, and the
application of remedies by the youth
full "interne," little Herbert had not
shed a tear and was watching opera
tions as impersonally as If somebody
else instead of himself had been hurt.
This imaginative mother made a
game of taking the ashes out of the
stove in the living room that made II
a pleasure instead of a task. The
eldest boy, a lad of ten, whose duty
this was. was supposed to be Hercuis.
cleaning the Augesn stables. and the
conversation was about that doughty
hero during the performance of 1t.
All Of them. down to three-year-
Herbert. were on intimate terms with
Hercules. and could tell me more than
] knew myself about his life and suf-
ferings
The mothers resources seemed
boundless. and her ingenuity marvel
Gus. No emergency arose that she did
not meet readily with a suggestion or
. game that distracted the attention
from pain or made a task means of
enjoyment, until I was filled with ad-
miration for her. 1t is because she is
an Imaginative" mother that she is
successful one.
Answers 10 CORRESPONDENTS.
Mrs T. L. c. writes: 'T wish you
would tell me what TO do with my
AmDRhfer She "a