The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-02-04
YOUR
 CHILDREN
By Olive Roberts Barton
oI9s5 eY NEA ssaVicF IsS.

Children live in a terrible rut so do mothers. No wonder life gets uninteresting and everybody becomes obsessive, living in q big dream world of what-could-be but isn't!
 We are all packed full of sup pressions. All of us are off dream ing somewhere, anywhere but here. and we learned it as children.
 The average home is so full of commands. It must be kept neat and clean. That is the first of all! The children must always be ladies and gentlemen, neat and clean. too. The table cloth must be spot less! Feet mustn't stamp or make a noise! No finger must touch the windows. chairs must not be moved, meals must be one long span of politeness and quietness! No wonder children get bored to death and start to dream.
 We are so busy paying attention to these more or less superficial things that we are forgetting SUD- pressions-the urges shouting si- lently for outlet.
 Don't Oycrdo System"
 We cannot let nOueS Bo, ol course, to become masses of chaos and confusion. This too, has bad effect, as it destroys self-respect and system; and system and order are needed up to q certain degree in home just as they are needed in business. But system can be q terrible master and souls and hearts are offered up too often as a tx ;tg rrrttinn orIinlfv
 The truth is that most mothers have gotten into the rut of being "housekeepers instead of home makers.
 What is home-maker? Well, I should say, a mother who thinks more of making her children into real people than into starched ht- tie puppets who will be neat and clean and quiet and sit around all the time and not touch anything.
 Our ideas are coming out or the dark and enlarging. We used to buy toys for looks. Now we buy them for interest and to teach the children to do things, to develop them and give them initiative, thought and action.
 The idea of the home itself IS fast falling into line with the toys.
 Not that the children are to be allowed to turn vandal and destroy and tear up to their hearts con- tent. That would not do; but to let them know that the house is theirs to really live in is differ- ent thing.
 Fairness Must Rule
 If lessons of respect for prop ertv, and justice to their mother and all the work she has to do, as well as politeness and fairness to each other are understood pounded in, should say--the new freedom of the house won't greatly upset things.
 Suppose Ted crawls out of a window and uses the roof as stage while he delivers a rousing address to a row of Roman SeDa- tors on his bed, will that hurt any thing? He may forget to straighten the curtain afterward, but put up Ted's growing oratorical ability against a curtain and what have you? Inside he wouldn't have given that address perhaps. He would probably have dawdled on the floor all the afternoon with book.
 Suppose Louise wants to learn to cook. What is mussy kitchen, if she cleans up the worst. to real desire to make things her. self? Otherwise she would be munching chocolates perhaps in movie, or over at Maude's gossip ing.
 I think our homes are going to be real factors in the lives of the children, not just filling stations in which to cat and sleep, but places to do real things and to learn.