Evening star., 1926-04-22
Your Baby and Mine
ny MYRTLE MEYER ELDRED.
Fear Punishment.


Mrs. J. M. A. contributes this
article to the department and while
don't agree with her I'm going TO
print it, just because.
She says: II am a constant reader
Of your baby column and would IKE
to contribute punishment l FOUND
effective i'm the case of my 2-year-oId
girl She had the most terrible nys-
terical tantrums and IL a thing dldnt
suit her she would scream for a haiI
hour at a time. | tried whipping ana
putting her to bed, but 1t did her no
good A friend suggested throwing
cup of cold water in her race. nut
this made her worse. one day WHEN
she way lying on the floor screaming
| got a hammer and two small Jacks
and nailed her dress to the moor. say.
ing that she could never get up until
she was good. The effect was marve-
lous. She Immediately stopped cry
ing and did not attempt to struggle.
but lust Law quietly for about ten
minutes. and then / heard small
voice saying: Good girl now, mama
The second time when l started Tor
the hammer as soon as she saw 1t In
nv hand she stopped screaming. That
was the last time. But | think the
child was so Mortified at being nailed
down that in her baby way OF think
ing she decided it would be forever.
II absolutely cured her and l have
had no trouble since. feel sure that
unless these tantrums are stopped
thew will result in far more serious
things when the child grows up.
Answer--I teel that you are
serious minded and CONSCIENTIOUS
mother and for that reason am
going to try and show you how wrong
this method of punishment really IS.
You feel that it has succeeded, ana
perhaps for the time being 1t has,
but you might have succeeueo
equally well If YOU had told the cnllu
YOU intended to cut her mana OF II
she didn't stop crying. Ano yet l
know YOU would have thought that
cruel and terrible. 1t is exactly the
same thing, except in degree. You
have used a child's lack of knowledge
and preyed upon her fears by threats
You have said she could never get
up. knowing that il wasn't true, and
this stopped her crying only because
she thought il was true and was fear-
fuI OF It, Some day when she Is cry
ing and you have TO tack her down,
if YOU continue this method. which
I sincerely hope YOU won't. she VIII
null herself free and she will know
then that YOU lied" 10 her ana after
this il will he some job" to discipline
her. because YOU have destroyed
most precious thing. her faith in your
word.
Punishments OF this sort work with
tiny children and with imbecIles. hut
as soon as q child develops he dis
covers the truth for himself and you
have won nothing. least of all obedl-
ence. 1t would have been far better
10 tell the child kindly that until he
stopped crying you would do nothing
at all for him and would go out OF
the room where you couldn't hear
him. Inevitably, IL you stuck to 1t.
she would have stopped and the siege
would have been over. \ child Will
not cry when he finds it does him no
good. Then reward him for being
good and leave him alone when he
s bad, He'll find the joys of being
good far more satisfactory than the
empty joy OF pounding his head and
screaming.
know you will agree with me and
I do thank you for your letter. Your
mistake was that you saw only the
immediate result and not the far
reaching future one.