The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-03

other teachers and myself have tried
 everything we can get to get him to
 obey us, but he just won't. What
 can you suggeste"
 TTHE psychology of childhood.is real
 ly the psychology of being good
 parent. And a good parent will not let a child get into the habit of being contrary.
 know just how you feel; so why don't you have the parents come to see you some morning, and frankly tell them that their child is creating an un- favorable impression on those around him, and that they simply must train him differently?
 In this case, he is just probably a spoiled child-I can't be sure, of course, from the data given, but no normal child ought to be allowed to have his own way when, it is clearly to his ad- vantage to follow the advice of his teacher. And his parents have got to learn that a severe whipping on oc- casion is demanded:
 If, on the other hand, he is spoiled at home and becomes manageable in the school room, to take it upon yourself to beat him would--or might cause him to react unfavorably to- ward the whole school room situation. But in case his parents won't train him properly then you will find that punishment of physical character may be the only means left to end his con trariness.
 On some other occasions in this col umn I have stated ii that corporal pun ishment should be used only as a last resort. In general that is true, but some children are so constituted that a good spanking is necessary in order to put an end to their foolishness. And let them cry afterward--they must learn that whipping is no joking mat ter-nor one to call for an undue amount of betting few minutes later. They must feeA in other words, the full measure of disapproval socially, besides just the mere physical pain.
 l wish that some one would write a book on 'the psychology of parent hood. Some parents use their power to abuse their children and whip them for every little fault. Others, on the contrary, allow the gravest mistakes to be repeated time after time without taking proper measures to prevent their recurrence. They feel that to spank 8 child would "hurt his feeling and make him love me less and l just couldn't stand that" We'll, they will pay the penalty in later years--the problem is to make them see it.
 The exaggerated self-love and self pity which some parents-particularly the mother-exhibit in connection with their offspring is simply appalling. Thwarted in their conjugal relations, and perhaps in their social aspirations, they make the child the outlet for all their troubles, and literally tie him to their apron strings by playing on his feelings.
 Words are not strong enough to ex- press the crime which such parents are committing against that most precious of all things a little child. But un- til the mother can be made clearly to realize the fact that it is only because she is selfish that she spells her baby, and that her motherlove is really less than her self-love, there isn't much that you can do to adjust the home life.
 What to do about it? We'll, society will undoubtedly come to point where 1t will examine men and women for their fitness to bear healthy children, and for their knowledge and under standing of how to bring them up after they are born. Thus will be eliminated first most of the unhealthy children, and second, most of the badly trained children who grow up into misery or crime.
 If you have a parent-teachers' as- sociation you may be able to do some. thing to educate the parents. Because chance has put the parents into pos. session legally of one or two children and because they happen to love them dearly is no valid reason for them to complacently assume that they know all there is to know about children. l may have the greatest of affection for my car, but that doesn't make me al one fell stroke a master mechanic-not by long shot.