The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1920-11-11
1HE SLEEPY HOUR

what that last kiss and tender pat
means TO a child as she tucks him
into bed. Perhaps the caress would
,be given oftener and with added
gentleness if she knew what an in
fluence it had upon the unfolding Of
a little new life. Us
Over and over the brain repeats
during the night the events Of the
day, twisting them into fantastic
shapes. These ideas float through
the mind of the child for eight to ten
hours out Of the twenty four--dur-
ing one-third to one@half Of his life.
Whether the fancies will be happy
or sad is often determined by the last
half-hour before sleep begins. And
the repetition of the ideas influence
a child's temperament making it
more cheerful or pessimistic.
That last half hour is often tax
upon the patience of the mother and
older people. The child is tired, the
activity of the day has exhausted
him and he relaxes control over him
self: he becomes nervous and exeit-
able or sluggish and obstinate. The
adult is also not so well poised as
during the day and the sleepy time
is often period Of conflicts. =.
What is the result of discipline
just before sleep7 When child has
been very naughty and received
some physical correction and had a
good cry, he falls, into deep sleep.
There is q. certain soothingness
about the finality to his treatment;
he has been upset. in an irrespon-
sible, capricious frame Of mind dur
ing his naughtiness, then in state
of suspense as to the. outcome, and
the punishment has settled his un-
certainty, there is promise that
life will run smoothly in the morn
ing. The hard cry exhausts the child
physically and he is in state for
rebuilding sleep. d"
There is another kind Of crying to
sleep which does not bring rest and
health. When a child has been just
a little petulent or reluctant to obey,
not naughty enough to be dealt with
severely, the adult sometimes speaks
harshly or finds fault with the child
and insists on exact compliance with
commands. The little one goes to
bed in a bad humor and cries fret
fully. An older child will toss rest
lessly, there is a feeling of some
! thing wrong with the world that he
cannot help or explain. Even if the
displeasure incurred does not cause
the child to cry himself to sleep, if
that last event in the day has been
disagreeable and no reconciliation
has followed, the unhappy mood
colors the nights dreams.
What shall we do, shall discipline
weaken at the end of the day OF
shall we hold strictly to our rules 7
Shall we allow the child to be dis
obedient, or insist on compliance al
the expense of everybody's happi-
nessq What is truly best for the
child's good7
! The best attempt at solution rs
prevention Of the difficult situation
l The sleepy mood OF the child should
! always be considered before any re-
quests or suggestions are made.
Evening is not the time for correc-
/ tion If it can possibly be postponed.
OF course real naughtiness must al
ways be dealt with positively on the
spot by an appropriate consequence.
But a child should never go to sleep
without the forgiveness and sympa-
thy Of the person who has been COM
PEELED to inflict the punishment.
Comfort and love should go with
him into the land Of dreams. Often
we can afford to let the correction
! of little perversenesses and mischief