Evening star., 1935-07-30
Real Things
Important
In Behavior
Troublesome Spirit
Should Be Studied to
Assist Child.
BY ANGELO PATRL.

OUR first impulse, when something
annoys or hurts US, Is to get rid
Of 1t at once, destroy 1t, put it out
Of vur lives. 1t Is q good impulse
and serves us well most of the time.
But when we allow 1t to enter o field
where impulse has no place 1t Is un-
fortunate. Where children are under
consideration the impulse to send
them away is out of place. It Is our
duty as parents and teachers to stand
by our assignment. Once q child Is
In our care we have no right to wish
to escape duty, human as that wish
may be.
When q child starts trouble in the
home we cannot put him out. Even If
that were not forbidden In social
practice, 1t would be forbidden by
the consequences. You cannot get rid
of q troublesome child by ridding
yourself of his presence. The thought
Of him will be there just the same
and you still will have to do some
thing about him, something truly
helpful before you can rest.
Troublesome children need to be
studied. When one of them is impuA
dent, disobedient, idle, careless or fails
to adapt himself no good will come
Of anger and loud talk and threats
and exclusion. No good will come
Of anything you do until you know
why you do it and what effect il
Is likely to have on the character
and behavior Of this troublesome child
Suppose he is failing in school
Get the teachers view of the failure
Not the report card, but her personal
private opinion of the cause. The
marks are a statement of the fact
that the child did not learn his lessor
so he could recite 1t or write 1t. II
Is not q report of the child as he lives
day by day In the class room. Gel
that. Then see the child specialist
who has devoted his life to childreni
dificulties. Then, in conference anc
agreement with the teacher, the spe.
cialist and yourself, plan a new pro.
gram Of home and school work. Un.
less you change the conditions for the
child the result must be the same.
Sending the troublesome child of
to q school in the hope of curing hin
Is not going to work. He will carry
his weakness, his habits, his attitude
along with him, and unless the cause
of the troublesome expressions has
been found and steps have been taker
to remedy it, he will continue to ex.
press the error that Is at work ir
him. Sending him away may give you
q recess and rest him up bit, but
it will not cure him.
A change Of environment Is often
helpful to children who have failed
1t offers them new start. It changes
the associations. This is an important
factor in changing the children's be-
havior. It removes some of the in
iuences that have been working
against their good. But it will not
cure them.
Spelling that Is poor because Of bad
eyesight improves when the poor
vision Is corrected. Irritable be.
havior, temper tantrums, disobedience
amounting to defiance caused by indi.
gestion, vanish when the diet Is
changed. Whining and tears and
nagging for attention caused by O
feeling of neglect disappear when the
child is given acceptable occupation
and assurances of affection. Only
when the difficulty is traced to its
roots can you send q child away with
any hope Of q cure. Change of place
helps the treatment, but 1t is useless
when there Is . cause at work. Find
the cause and it may not be neces-
sary to send him away.
(copyright. 1889