The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-13

discipline, as my baby is 261b
 pounds and feel that would like
 to start training him properly men,
 tally as we'll as physically. MRS.
 K. w. M., Brooklyn.
 MAY I answer your third ques IV1 tion first by saying that the prop
 CT time to begin training a child Is the day he is born.
 As to the questions involved in your first paragraph, it seems that the prin- clpal thing which you need to realize is that crying for an hour or two a day Is perfectly normal activity for every healthy infant You seem to be already making excellent progress, in reducing the time of your childs crying-and Ii you are sure that your boy is per fectly well physically I should strongly advise you to continue in your present course. Beware. however, lest you live Ill a fools paradise as to your child's physical condition. It is impossible for young mother to keep too closely in touch with her physician on all ques- ticns concerning her child's weight, diet hours of sleep, etc.
 As to your skipping your child's hand when he reaches for a forbidden article, I should be inclined to with hold my approval according to the spirit that prompted you at the moment. If your slap was given to help your boy by teaching him something which you could not impart to him in any other way. l should say that your course was jnstifiable. If. however, the act was performed by you in a spirit of punish ment, you would do we'll to devote a moments thought to a consideration of the very limited opportunities which child of Il months has had for the de- velopment of any ideas of right and wrong.
 It is a pleasure to respond to your request for rules on character training by quoting, in highly abridged form, Professor Kirkpatrick's dicta on this subject as set forth in his "Fundamen- tals of Child Study"
 1. The foundations of regularity should be laid by the development of regularity in the more or less uncon- scious organic processes of sleeping, eating and eliminating waste materials from the body. Parents should seek to establish regularity in these respects not only as a condition of health, but as a solid basis for the development of a stable moral character.
 2. Parents must see, to it that right actions are followed by pleasurable re- suits to the child, and wrong actions ky disagreeable results. The child should come to realize that it pays to do right"
 8 Moral development is promoted by getting the child to inhibit the organic and instinctive impulses as soon as pos slble. An assuring word that causes a q id to stop cry ing for food, may be- come a sign to him that. if he keeps quiet, his wants will soon be satisfied. Care must be taken, however, especially at first that the interval between as- surance and satisfaction is short, lest the word intended to quiet become the signal for a period of crying.
 4 The child should be taught to en- durt hardship. The child who can be induced to stop crying when hurt, or to face danger when afraid is gaining in moral development.
 5. As children grow older, they should learn that it often pays to delay the grarlfication of m impulse for a time, in order that a greater pleasure may be experienced later. If you will keep quIet till I get through, you may ask as many questions as you wish" is il- illustrative of the proper policy.
 6 Work before play and pain be- fore pleasure" is a good motto. If disagreeable task is to be performed, it is always better to Lave the Few. last, as anticipation lightens the pain and enhances the pleasure. IT every c1ild were led to form such habits, the cemoralizing tendency to go into debt for what has not vet been earned would disappear within a generation.
 [. Children should be taught to pre- fec the satisfaction of the higher" in stincts If a child chooses to offer the best to others instead of keeping it for Himself, he is forming a most excellent moral habit.
 o. The importance of habit formation raust never be forgotten. Parents should be sure to secure right action even if a low motive must be appealed to, but always appeal to the highest motive that
 ,..r' i've. 4 chlld who is po- lite for a long time through fear of punishment may later remain polite because of the social advantages thus secured.
 9. Obedience to consistent authority 't "nrourH""'. 'II- u nii itself, but as a means to an end-the end always being self-control. Obedience is temporary and immature virtue. which becomes mature and lasting only when it grows into free Self-control