Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-04
Bad Habit
Cure Aided
By Desire
Teach Children Need
of Conquest, Pleads
Child Expert.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

WHEN child has bad habit his
parents and teachers struggle to
eliminate it. Usually they think that
if they do something unpleasant to.
him, if they make him sufficiently un|
comfortable in mind and body he will
stop doing the wrong thing and take
to the right one. With surprising per-
sistenoe they keep at it in the face Of
the child's consistent disregard of their
efforts.
In vain is he kept after school, made
to write sentences a hundred times
over. In vain Is he kept In on Satur-
days. He takes the loss of his allow
ance philosophically. Deprived Of his
ball and bat and glove, he shrugs and
takes up book. Sent to bed, he goes
to sleep. No desserts for week leaves
him in better health and in cheerful
spirit. He still does what he ought to
leave undone. Why, in the face of all
this opposition and discomfort, does
he persist in doing what he admits Is
not the thing TO do? Because the es-
sential factor in changing behavior
has not been reached. The child has
not wished to change
Desire Breeds Magic.
OF course he has said he would like
to stop biting his nails, or throwing
his things about, or swearing, or play
ing dice, or shouting at his mother.
But you can know that he has never
once wished in his deep self to correct
his behavior. Once he wishes from
the depths of himself to change he
changes like magic.
I don't know how to reach that
hidden place in him. Nobody does I
suspect that it is a wise precaution
that the Creator took on the sixth day
when He started us of on our long
march toward perfection. If every
one who believed he knew what was
good for every one else to do and could
move him to the doing, what q sad
mess that would be. So this deep self
is hidden from sight and touch. Only
the soul that dwells in that secret place
has the password. When it is moved
to speak the thing is done. How can
we get children to wish to move?
First by making goodness beautiful
So many good people are unattractive
So many good things are dull. Youth
responds to beauty, to brightness, to
speed and joy. 1t seems as though
the devil had all the good tunes IN
spite of the hymn writer who said
he shouldn't have them. Make good
ness as attractive as evil and the young
people will wish deeply to possess it.
Beauty Aids Plan.
When you are struggling to cure
your child of the habit of biting hi:
1nger-nails, show the beauty, the need
of them. Stress the beauty of lovely
hands, not the ugliness Of mistreated
hands. When you want TO correct
disorderliness, wrong thinking or poor
behavior. put the ideal in plain sight
and make it as attractive as you know
how. If, for example, you want tc
make children stay home instead OF
ordering them to do so and locking the
doors on them, dress up the home
food it with light and color and mu
sic. Fill it with the beauty Of youth
and you will not be able to get their
to go out. They will wish to be al
home.
Force never touches the essential
thing, the inner wish of the soul. You
can force the boy, but never that hid.
den power. To reach that you mus
possess the charm Of ineffable beauty
that makes youth hunger for the ideal
Copyright, 1887