The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-03-10
Child Right
to Guidance
Vital Thing
BY MARTHA LEE

to regale ourselves with is the one
about children being blessings that
God has seen fit to beStoW upon
those Of his subjects who are de-
serving of the JOY of watching the
perpetuation of their family name.
The fable itself is a beautiful
theory. But there is fallacy in
the whole idea.
Children are blessings. They are
gifts. 1t Is JOY to see the per-
petuation of a family name. But
children are not always given to
deserving parents. And therein lies
the fallacy.
Often they are sent to mothers
already burdened with a family too
large for the income. They are sent
to mothers engrossed in lives Of
pleasure, and given over to the dis
interested care Of servants. They
are sent to mothers too busy with
drudgery. They are sent to foolish,
unmarried mothers, to be shunted
of to an orphans asylum. objects
of disgrace and shame.
Delicate Mechanisms
Children are delicate, living
mechanisns. They require tender
care and attention. They require
love and understanding and guild
ing. And these things can not be
received through the impersonal
guardianship of a nurse, whose con-
Germ ends as soon as their physical
needs are cared for.
A child is something more than a
toy, to be fondled, petted, made to
perform for company" and hustled
off to bed to be kept out of the way.
A child is something more than a
little automcaton. to be wound up
in the morning and left to tick the
day away with regular intervals,
timed to the minute, for acquiring
correct habits Of living.
They, of all things in the world,
come under the heading, personal
attention" They must be taught
regular habits, of course. There
should be certain time for sleep,
meals, play and hygiene.
A lavish display of affection tends
to be injurious. 1t makes children,
who are susceptible beyond the I'M
derstanding of grown-ups, con-
ceited. over bearing and selfish.
But a child must be made to feel
he is a human being. That what
he does, what he has to say, what
happens in school that day, or what
his little playmates said to him are
as interesting to his parents, as they
are to him, because they are his
whole sphere at that age.
Sights Harmful
In a large family. where favors
are granted for good behavior, the
little ones in the character forming
age, must be protected against any
sights, real or imagined. And the
imagined ones are the most serious.
Little things make unbelievably last
ing impressions on minds in the
process of formation. Sights may
hurt so deeply that they will carry
over into adolescence and manhood,
to warp an otherwise normal ma
ture. They can make a natural, un-
selfconScious nature Teticent and
backward.
Perhaps In all the scheme Of life,
there is nothing Sadder, nothing
more deserving of consideration and
understanding treatment than a
child born out of wedlock. That
child's mother has sacred duty to
perform that can not be Shirked
and surely one that should not be
thrown off by passing it on to some
one else. Her child deserves some
thing better than an asylum, if only
for the recompense for having been
the victim of poor craftsmanship
Of Race Apart
They have no visible marks that
distinguish them from the other lit
tie boys and girls in the world. But
from the time they are old enough
to have feelings, they are made to
understand that they are different.
And that that difference, although
1t does not show in the way of de-
formity or scars, sets them apart
from other children as though they
were of a different race.
Children are blessings, yes. But
more than that, they are respon-
sibiIities. They come into the world
with birthright. And that birth
right is the love and protection and
care of the men and women who
are their mothers and fathers.
Their futures depend upon their
environment and the influences of
the treatment they receive as chill
dren.
You mothers who are too busy to
see that your little boys and girls
get all the breaks you can possibly
give them-youd better think it
over. They are your contribution to