Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-20
LITTLE TALKS BY
BEATRICE FAIRFAX

! snakes, and that most of us pass
our lives without encountering one
Of them. wouldn't the really wise
parent teach children how slight a
cause there really is no fear?
The Feather Pillow Brigade
Then there is the matter of tenn
pests. A mother who is not ashamed
OF communicating fears often starts
the family of self-defense drill at the
mere sight of black cloud gather
Ing. Every door and window is
closed tight. Every child Is armed
with a feather pillow. Then the
! whole group is mustered and taken
to the cellar while countless stories
are told of victims of lightning
strokes By the time the tempest
is over the children are so thor
oughly fear-soaked that one could
scarcely expect them ever to enjoy
a rainy day again.
The fear of ghosts must have
been. passed along in this way. AS
a matter of fact, ghosts are no less
harmless than mice, and, as reliable
statistics will convince you, quite
as little given to murderous as
saults. But children have been
taught fear of them, under many
names. There's a kind of nursery
phantom that has been used to
frighten children into good be-
hayior, though l hope this is no
| longer done. It's spoken of as a
great, big, black something-or-
other, the name varying with time,
and place, and it is supposed to
seize children after dark, or bite
them, or take them away some
where, If they do not do just as
they are told. You can make a
child obedient by this means. But
you can also injure his nervous sys-
tenn so that he will never thorough
ly recover as long as he lives.
Family Fear-Hobbies
Some families have their special
individual fear-hobbies, which they
are eternally riding, and which are
: perhaps bred into the children more
thoroughly than anything else that
they learn. Sometimes it's the kid
|. mapping fear, exaggerated to a
point where the child is never left
alone to play in peace Sometimes
It's the burglar fear, which causes
vast amount of time to be con-
sumed in boiling and barring doors
and windows and looking under
beds. Sometimes it's fear of sick
ness. which is particularly unde-
sirable to get deeply planted in a
child's mind.
1t is unnecessary that a child
should be afraid of being alone, or
: of the dark. 1t is pitiful that he
should be afraid of animals, who
are so willing to be his friends.
1t is absurd that he should be afraid
of wind or rain or snow or Ice when
rate invitations to come and have a
thoroughly good time.
Happily, there have always been
few children who wouldn't learn
the fear-lesson. There have al
ways been wild" boys and "tom-
boy" girls who would climb to the
top of the tallest tree, whatever
penalty might be imposed, and
who would be audaciously ready to
make friends with a burglar If
they met one. Children who refuse
to learn fear should be highly valu-
able men and women, and l am
sure that If we could follow them
up we should find that they always
are.
It is true that we are only Just
beginning to discover what an un-
wholesome thing fear is. 1t isn't so
long ago that fear was deliberately
made use of in dealing with chill
dren, not by mothers only, but by
| the whole formidable conspiracy of
adults. And it wasn't merely fan
tastic fears that were employed,
fears of bogies and giants and ogres
and goblins, but practical, painful
fears, fears of ones own parents
and of ones teachers at school.
1t doesn't seem possible that |
parents could be willing to have
their children afraid of them. But |
parents used to believe, or many of |
them did, that a child had to be
broken" like a horse. That if it |
transgressed and was made to feel |
pain, 1t would be afraid to trans
gress again, and that this was what |
bringing up" consisted of.
Fearlessness the Best Gift
The truth is, as the wisest people
will tell you, that If you can keep |
your child sound and fearless, you
are doing infinitely more for him
than If you should leave him for
tune. l say him." but this is of
course quite as true of girls as of
boys. It Is just as important for
women to be fearless as for men.
And the best kind of fearlessness
ts oI tpufa afhIo hind IF |
isn't 30 necessary to have courage
to stand on the end of precipice,
which after all won't do anybody
any good and will merely prove
that you have strong nerves, as to
have the kind that won't tell lies or
even sit still and allow anybody else