The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-20
Bringing Up Little Folks
By MRS. V. o. G. OLIVER

 child and consider his efforts, trials and sorrows petty; we must try to un- derstand how sincerely they put all their hearts into their play and that the losses that seem so trivial to us are of great moment to them. We must learn to share all their experiences with them if we would develop the fine feelings we wish them to have at ma- turity.
 Children must not be shut off in one part of the house to remain aloot until a certain age, but ought to be part of the family circle. sharing it's joys, work and minor sorrows. do not mean that children should be pushed before visitors, have all their meals at the family table or remain up till their elders retire. but there are times and places when it is the children's right and privilege really to be memb CTS of the family.
 Even when they very young. children can assume responsibility for certain light tasks about the house and as their age and strength increase, more and more duties should be added. The great American idea has been to remove all responsibility from the child and to give him care free child hood. I would not take one second Of  make it a joy for him to feel that the home is his and that he, too, helps in the making of it by performing cer- tain duties that need to be done for the comfort of all. The child of two can pick up toys, put away dishes and silver help set the table, dust low fur niture and run many errands upstairs and down, and he loves to feel that he is mothers helper"
 "He brings his daddys slippers,
 He picks up. baby's toys,
 He shuts the door for grandma,
 Without a bit of noise
 "On errands for his mother
 He scampers up and down,
 She vows she wouldn't change him For all the boys in town"
 (Song for A Little Childs Day, by Emile Poulsson and Eleanor Smith.)
 Then the child can help prepare for the great festival days, birthdays Thanksgiving and Christmas, those joyous days which bring the family very close together; and we can let him share not only in the preparation but in the joy of the day itself, and here very early he gains a presenti- ment of the love and spirit of service that make home, and an ideal of the W
 As we would let the child share the labor and the festivals. so we must permit him to share the great family secrets and home joys Let him know that he must never divulge anything that concerns only the family and I know that child properly trained will never tell his playmates what he is told is a family secret
 So we begin~very early to train him to keep his word and the sancity of the home. When he has been thus pre- pared he is ready to share with the mother and father that greatest family secret, the coming of the new baby, and this confidence will bind the lit- tie one closer than anything else to the very heart of the home,
 Children are so open-hearted and ready and respond so sweetIy and quickly to faith and trust that we often miss great happiness by not sharing our hopes and joys more freely with them.
 If we keep the bond very close our home will become the great meeting place of all children and this love and companionship between parents and children will be like a powerful mag net whose attraction the children can. not resist
 So from these beginnings the home tie will be so strengthened that we need never fear that the allurements Of the world can draw our children from us, but can rest assured that they Will always return to the center of deep respose."