The Washington herald., 1916-06-09
tCopyright. lylS.)


There is no greater problem than
this for the mother of sons. The
mother of girls. too. may well con-
slider 1t. for in these days of movies"
and other cheap amusements we are
In danger of losing the home alto
gether except as place simply for
eating and sleeping. Some of our
mothers are greatly troubled by the
difficulty they find in keeping their
children, even their very young chill
dren, happy and contented. "Oh,
mother. all the other children go! Why
can't I? Surely we are no better than
the other fellows" How many moth
ers hear this almost unanswerable
protest to their objections TO the out
side amusements!
Dear Aunt Chatty," one of them
recently wrote. what can do to
keep my boys at home? They are
such little fellows-only eight and
ten-and yet they find most of their
amusement already running the streets
with the other boys. Try as / Will
to keep them in, they get out in spite
of me. They are always wanting
nickels, too. TO go to the moving pict-
ure show that opened this spring in
our street. l can't think 1t is right
to let them be out so much. but when
/ say l think they ought to play at
home they say they want TO be with
the other fellows. And they ask me
why l am so much more strict than
the other mothers. Do all mothers nave
to have this time with their boys?
Yes, the time comes in the life OF
every normal child when the gregar-
ious instinct-the gang spirit. it has
been called-develops, and every moth
er has to reckon with ii. 1t has come
a little early to your boys, perhaps
but il is one of the universal problems
of motherhood.
| always like to get the opinion OF
others, when possible. on the problems
brought to me by our mothers, and So
as | often do. l read this letter at
mothers club meeting and asked if any
one present had found a solution of that
particular difficulty. The question brought
up a very interesting discussion-so IN
teresting that | regret the lack OF space
that prevents my giving every Word OF
It. But as briefly as l can | will tell you
what one little woman there told US she
had done to make home so attractive 10
her boys that they preferred to play there
rather than to seek the other fellows
in the street
We used to live at the edge of town,
she said. practically in the suburbs. and
it was not so hard there to provide things
to keep the boys amused. My HUSBAND
put up a tent in the side yard, just where
could watch the children at play in II
from the window where / usually sat at
my sewing machine. Then he organized
a club of the boys in the neighborhood,
and he played with them for time
nearly every evening after he came home
from work. There were eleven boys in
the club-our three and the rest neigh
bors There were enough of them TO
make things interesting and they PLAYED
Wild West jumping over bars and firing
swapping caps as they jumped. or they
would have a circus. and l would whiten
the clown with starch or talcum powder
Sometimes would invite all the club to
picnic supper in the tent, and they
would have a folly time out there with
their sandwiches and lemonade and cake
or cookies.
Then my husbands business made 1t
necessary to move into the city and we
lost our big yard. We had to crowd our
selves into a. city apartment. The mothers
of the other boys all said they were
mighty sorry to have us leave because We
had kept their boys of the streets play
ing with ours.
4 did not see what | could do at first
in the apartment, for l knew the boys
would have to have some place to play
In II l was going to keep them at home.
Finally ! decided to give one of the
bedrooms for a playroom and fix the
living room with folding bed for my
bedroom, so / did. | stained the floor
and built shelves at one end for the
books and pla aythings and We bought
such things as we could afford that
would give the boys something really
to interest them. For instance, one of
the first things we got was one of those
toy trains with a transformer so they
could run 1t by the electricity in the
house. That kept the boys at home and
1t was not long before the -other boys
would come in from school with them
and stay for hours running that train.
we have made study of playthings
that will teach the boys how to make
things or do things, and we both play
with them when We can, SO now they
hardly ever ask to go places with the
other boys; nearly always is it can they
bring the other boys home with them
to work the engine or use the tool box
or something like that"
Children will have amusements, and
IL they cannot get them at home they
will seek them elsewhere. The mother
who keeps her boys at home is the
mother who studies to make home so
attractive for them they will have no
desire to go elsewhere.