The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-07
Let Children Alone
t your children alone.
ng pR.. FRANKl oRANE

Let your children alone.
 Do not neglect them. There is difference between a wise letting alone and foolish neglect.
 There have been probably as many chil- dren spoiled by Oyer-management as by neg ligence.
 Don't forget that the prime right of child is the right to his own personality. In fact, his chief business in life is to develop prop- erly the expression of that personality. How can he do this if he is continually hedged and thwafted by you?
 A child learns by three 'heans--by experi- ence, by example, and by atmosphere.
 It is doubtful if didactic teaching and preaching ever did much good to anybody, child or grown-up. Only inspiratiOnal preach ing is of any account.
 To let the child touch the stove and get hurt little is far better than to say .sYou mustn't touch itP'
 Be ehaFy of your commands Every useless order is a burden that interferes with his growth and tends to alienate him from you.
 Let him run as free as you dare. One les son he ledrns from his own experience is worth dozen he gets from you.
 How many little lives are rendered utterly wretched by the loving but irritating tyranny of parents The little are crossed at every turn, The mother is continually scolding, the father breaking in by times with sharp pro- hibitions.
 The queer part of all this is that those pa- rents think they are doing their high duty by the child. They propose to give their children some bringing up" and not let them run wild" So they cramp, thwart, oppose the growing mind.
 Children are sharp. They soon adjust them selves to this and get their parents measure. trr To, haan {. -'good," that is.. shrewd little hypocrites, prigs and time-servers; or "bad." that is,, angrily insistent upon having a life of their own.
 Yet. alas! even among grown people nor ality is supposed to, be necessarily prohibi- tion of some kind of other. nagging, hecking and limiting.
 We are beginning nowadays to study ethics with some kind of intellectual honesty, and are discovering that there IS nothing essen tially moral or religious about any kind of rule, prohibition, authority or domination The goodness you produce by such negative force is of poor fibre.
 Real moral guidance consists in developing courage, love, freedom and self-control
 Study the child. seek to bring out what is in him, Don't study your catechism or "sys- tenn of education and try to make your child measure up to that.
 There IS no genuine morality without free dom.
 Anything done from fear is lnmoral. Even the goodness" your child puts on because he is afraid of you, is wicked.
 Quit trying to mould yoHt child. Stand by and help him. Let him mould himself. Be his friend. Let him feel yau uunderstand him.
 A lot of our moral Srinciple" is mere self-conceit and vanity of opinion, and we think we are doing Gods service when we impose our egotism on others, particularly upon helpless youth. Rh
 Study the child, live with him, enter into his life and point of view. encourage him in what he wants to do, sympathize with his pecularities. and if there is any morality you want him to adopt, live it yourself. for real morality comes to the soul by atmosphere, not by precept.
 And when your boy grows up let him fol low the calling he chooses. If he wants to be mechanic don't try to make him a lawyer. Every life that does not pursue its own inborn bent is failure.
 The real life problem of your child is to find himself; help him do it. Last and most important, any parent that strikes child for any reason whatever is ignorant, stupid and criminal There is al. ways some other way to discipline, and if you will cease being lazy, negligent and petu. lant you can find 1t.