Milford chronicle., 1922-12-08
IMITATION
By Sophie Kitchener

what adult deed is there that chill
dren will not at once initiate? There
fore be careful, you grOwn-up people,
what you do in the presence of these
little ones" FrOebel.
The family is at breakfast, Mother,
Daddy, and baby Betty, aged two.
Everything is very cheerful and hap
py until baby decides she must have
the inside part of a roll. Now Mother
doesn't think that the soft hot bread
is good for baby's youthful stomach
and so she says, "No." Betty becomes
disgruntled and turns to her usual
court of appeal-Daddy. 1t happens
however, that Daddy knowing that
Mother is right in a Quandry. So
for the time being Betty walls in dis
appointment. But Mother has to see
about something in the kitchen. AS
soon as she is we'll out of the room
Daddy leans over to Betty, stuffs the
roll in her mouth, and says, Here
hurry and take it before your mother
comes back"
This illustration speaks for itself.
What kind of a standard is Daddy
setting before his Betty who is in
truth the pride of his heart? Children
learn by imitation, and if the exam
pies set them are not worthy, they
can't be expected to invent worthy
ones all by themselves. A parents in
diligence of his child should not make
him willing to sacrifice the child's fu-
ture standards to his present pleas
ure. With parents it is often a case
70,
selves than to discipline their chill
dren. Because they want the full
wealth of their child's love they buy
it with weakness. AS result they re-
ceive a great deal of affection, pro-
vided the child always gets what it
wants, and have a great deal of trou-
BILE when it doesn't. True this little
Betty loves her Daddy and in any pre-
dicament or childish unhappiness calls
always for him, but should he be
proud to be called by the baby whose
love he has bought with pampering?
What is more, such examples will
lower the baby's stam-
ina and will warp her viewpoint be-
yond repair. For since children do de-
velop through imitation, Betty will
be the sort of little girl who
must have what she wants regardless
of everything else; all because her
father taught her how.
Therefore it is we'll for parents to
watch first their own weaknesses so
there won't be so many for their chill
dren to initiate.
Census returns proving that mo-
therhood is the leading and final
profession" of the majority of wo-
men led to the inclusion of course
in "Mothercraft" in the National
kindergarten and Elementary Col
lege in Chicago. The College has !
recently been brought to the atten-
ton of the country by its decision !
to leave the city where it has train |
ed teachers and mothers for the !
last thirty-six years.
It is to remove to Evanston, Ill, |
where it will be neighbOr of |
Northwestern University, with en- |
interchange of members of the fac |
ulties and credits for students of |
both institutions.
President Edna Dean Baker,
sponsor of "Mothercraft" training,
defines this course as a vocation |
Q6mduuluS Ju6 DIOdu6SI SuuCdJlOA
and finest specialization, linking
art and science, literature and in
dustry, philosophy and dietetics,
psychology and religion, to make
the mother in the home a poet and
bread-maker, priest and a tea
cher, at one and the same time"
"There never was a time in the
history of the world when the
needs of little children were great
er, or their right to good educa-
ton more pertinent for the safety
of democracy and the ideals of civ
ilization," says President Baker.
"Those who think deeply on this
problem realize that attempts to
reform the present adult popula-
tion are merely palliative, that
ways of thinking, feeling, and act
ing on the part of most citizens are
too deeply set in the grooves of
habit to effect a widespread and
lasting change. 1t is evident that
the dynamo of democracy not only
needs more power but the power
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