Evening star., 1935-12-27
AnxietyFo
To Parent
AndC Child
lowering Over Young
With Nervous Solici-
tation Foolish.
BY ANGELO PATRI.


ct HAVEN'T a minute to spare. I'd
like to 60 to the concerts. I'd
like to play hand of bridge now and
then, or go to the movies, but I'm
tied down with the children. can't
leave them a minute until they are
safe in bed and then I am too tired
to think of moving"
That ought not to be so. Today,
when we have so many labor saving
devices in the home mother ought
to have sufficient leisure to enjoy an
hour Of rest and recreation daily,
and half day off every week. Any
household servant would insist upon
that much at least, and it seems
to me that mother Is equally en-
titled to relief from the daily grind.
She must have that relief or be i'll.
The matter is in her own hands.
The overbusy mother will say, "You
wouldn't say that If you had my
children" But I so say it. All chill
dren are active. all of them need care
full supervision, but all of them do
have quieter moments when some one
else can stay on duty. And there Is
always some one to do so If one
makes an effort to find help. 1t is
not enough to say, Il could never
trust anybody with my children" You
certainly would not say that you are
the only one who feels responsibility
to little children? Granted that no
body will have the same anxiety about
their welfare as the mother. might it
not be possible that most of the
anxiety might be without sound
reason?
In my experience the overbusy
mother is the anxious mother. She
keeps reaching out to the child to
pull him, push him, drive him in
the way he is not going. 1t is seldom
that a child is found who is forever
heading in the wrong direction-that
Is, in dangerous directions. The fact
that he is doing something that you
might not have thought of doing does
not make his action wrong. Too
often the busy mother thinks it does.
Where are you going, Don? Stay
under the window SO can see you.
Don't go where you can't hear me
call you. III be calling every 10
minutes or So Why are you digging
holes? Why don't you play nicely
with your wagon? Donnie, where are
you? You mustn't go behind the
bushes like that, where can't see you.
It frightens me. Now come in
and I'll wipe your face. It's black
as your shoes. Why do you get your
face so dirty? Play nicely with your
clean sand. Sit on the porch step.
I'll soon be calling you for lunch.
No, you can't play with Robbie. You'll
maybe catch something. I'll take you
out to the park after lunch
If anything like that is going on in
your house, take care. You are going
to be an overanxious mother. You will
not only wear out your own nerves,
you will wear out the children's good
will They will run away from you
and all that you represent as soon
as they can manage it. They must
have chance to work out their own
schemes without interference. They
feel that they are well-intentioned,
and they are. and resent the constant
interruption and the shackling bonds
Of your anxiety.
Children who are in normal health
need a lot of letting alone. Mothers
need and must have, frequent relief
from their home and family duties.
It is a mothers duty to make certain
of her rest and recreation hours. The
children can stand it and like it.
(Cnnvrirht Io25O