The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-09-21
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the dangers multiply. OICen the
seeds of immortality are sown in early
boyhood. There are the bill boards,
obscene pictures and postal cards in
windows, the unseemly jests and con-
versation of older boys already de-
praved-unwholesom stimulants that
tend to create impure images in the
mind of an innocent boy.
Added to this is the evil influence
of bad companionship. One bully
can intimidate a whole crowd, and
one perverted boy can demoralize his
fellows. Sinister influences are thus
operating to stifie all the good i'm
pressions that the boy received at
home.
What are parents to do, especially
the mother, under such circum-
stances?
While it would be a mistaken pol
icy to insist on keeping an energetic
boy confined to the house and making
a mollycoddle out of him, mother
should keep a watchful eye on her
boy and his playmates. If she has
the confidence of her boy, she will
soon learn where the danger is Turk
ing.
Therefore, it is a good plan to en-
courage the boy to tell his expert
| ences of the day. In his innocent
prattle, he will relate occurrences
that may be sign of breakers ahead.
A prudent mother can thus ward off
many an evil. The boy may also tell
something about the conduct of those
with whom he associates, revealing to
her the character of one or several
boys who may have bad influence
little one to leave off associating
with dangerous characters and keep
him in the company of good boys.
In this respect, it is advisable for
mothers of the neighborhood to CO.
operate. By such cooperation a con-
certed plan can be followed and each
mother will be satisfied that her little
boy is in the proper kind of COM
pany.
The all-important point is that
mothers must gain the confidence of
their boys. Otherwise the conduct of
their children outside the home will be
| sealed book to them. There are
many things that impress the boy on
the street, which he may feel inclined
to conceal from his mother because he
knows that they are wrong.
Then there is the dangerous period
| Of hnuhD1I xx,hn l., -
ing into pubescence. There are thou
| sands of full-grown men today who
deprecate the fact that their first in
| formation concerning sexual matters
was gathered on the street from the
| conversation of older boys whose
language on the matter was filthy
and demoralizing. Looking back upon
their youthful days, they depIore the
! fact that they received not one word
of information on this subject from
| their parents
1t is the contemplation of the havoc
that has been wrought on the morals
of youth by evil companionship, that
has prompted the project of sex n.y.
giene in the schools. Catholic edu-
Gators properly oppose this measure,
because mere knowledge does not
bring righteousness; the moral factor
must also come into play. 1t is their
| contention that instruction in sex
matters belongs in the home, not in
the school.
However, it is all too regrettable
| that there is such reticence in the
home in this respect. Mothers and
fathers should consider that there
are two ways in which boy gains in
formation concerning sex matters:
the one is by means of coarse and
vulgar language used by older boys
whose morals are already corrupted;
the other through the parents them
selves by a gradual process of en-
lightenment graded according to the
mental capacity of the boy and the
urgency of circumstances.
1t may seem embarrassing for many
to follow the latter course, but if
properly approached there will be lit
| tie difficulty Parents who shirk their
| duty in this respect are constantly liv-
| ing in the consciousness of the fact
that their boys are having their NOR
ais perverted by dangerous outside in
| fiuences. They know the danger, but
| they close their eyes to it and do moth
| ing to counteract it.
- The Echo.