Evening star., 1935-12-05
Too
Young to
Discipline
Growth of Character
Begins in the
Cradle.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

TT is difficult to refrain a child.
= What he learns first, in his be-
ginning days, sticks. A great deal OF
trouble, hard struggle, is the price OF
the correction of early mistakes. 1t
is not possible for a self-willed child.
needless Of the rights of others, care
less in his habits, crude in his be-
havior, to become q well-bred young
person on his 18th or any other birth
day anniversary.
Weary mothers, thoughtless mothers,
mistaken or ignorant mothers, are led
into allowing children to form bad
habits by some such notion as, "Oh.
he is only a baby. When he gets
sense we can tell him" You can tell
him, but he is not likely to hear you.
One hears with his mental habits
as well as with ones physical ears.
There Is such thing as being deaf
to new ideas, and that deafness is
what makes it so hard to refrain, or, as
the psychologists have it. recondition
a child. It is best to begin when he
begins, and keep at it until he has
the power to direct his own ways.
I feel so sorry for parents who sud-
denly discover that their children are
displaying undesirable traits and find
themselves unable to make any i'm
preston upon their children. He Is
untidy, loud, demanding and utterly
selfish. Nothing we can say seems
to impress him in the slightest de-
gree" A mother says Of her 16-year-
old daughter: II am worried to death.
She laughs in our faces, goes out and
comes in as she pleases, and we never
know where she Is or with whom. I
have talked and scolded and prayed
and wept, and she Just says, Don't
worry, ma"
These children do not develop these
wayward traits overnight. No growth
is sudden. All growth is the slow
development Of long term of expert
ences. Once that growth is set 1t is
very difficult to reset it in much
different mode. I am not saying that
it cannot be done. 1t has been done
again and again, but with pain and
tears The time to correct bad tend
encies is right in the beginning.
It is not easy to discipline laugh
ing baby, and babies know how to be-
guile their mothers with smiles and
pats and COOS. They know what they
want and they 60 after 1t, and un-
less the mother is watchful they are
likely to be well on their way to
mastering the household before they
realize 1t. The baby wants to pull
brothers hair. Well, let him. 1t
doesn't hurt brother much, although
he grumbles. Baby wants to sit on
mothers lap at the table. Well, after
all, he is the baby. He doesn't want
to go to bed on time. A few minutes
won't matter. One day he wants
something and mother Unexpectedly
says no. Then she discovers that
the baby is riding high and using
the whip.
The best way is to try to make up
ones mind about the sort of child
one wants to rear. Having reached
that decision, start early to produce
that sort Of character, Growth goes
on underneath, little each day, and
appears on the surface later. There
Is q strong idea In the mind before
action takes place. That idea was
cultivated by experiences that covered
a span Of time. It will require o
longer span of time. much sharper
experiences, to change the idea and
its consequent behavior. Begin early.
tCopyrisht, 1850