Evening star., 1936-06-25
Old Adage
Health is
Wealth True
Parents Should Ar-
preciate Normal
Playful Offspring.
BY ANGELO PATRI.


KNOWING that one has a gifted
child, seeing that gift develop and
watching the child win applause and
furtune must be a great delight to
the parents. No wonder they beam
with pride and joy. Still. it seems to
me, that the father and mother who
have healthy happy, normal child
ought to feel equally proud and equal
ly glad. if not more so.
Rearing a genius, or even a gifted
child. is difficult task. Seldom we
find a well-balanced body and mind
when the gift is outstanding. Some
thing has been robbed from Peter to
pay Paul, and Paul never takes that
placidly. The highly gifted child
usually has weak spot somewhere
waiting an opportunity to make trouble.
Sometimes nerves are edgy and tenn
per brittle. Sometimes personal char
acteristics are exaggerated to the place
where they make the gifted one very
unhappy and render association with
him most unpleasant. I knew one
VIII uSEO W vain bilC liOOlg b1tA4lS LILO
fingers until they bled. Another in
sisted upon eating one dish, the same
thing, every meal. Still another
must live in room of the same tenn
perature the year round, and when he
went out there was a great deal of
fuss and bother One gifted individual
who Travelled a lot had to carry his
bed along, and most of his personal
belongings as well. until he required
a freight car to make a trip of two
hours by train.
OF course it is great to possess
gift of first magnitude, fine to say.
that is my gifted child" But it is
Just as fine, and far easier to know
that this normal, happy. healthy
youngster who can eat and sleep and
play with the rest of the crowd, who
can grow up and take his place among
the useful and happy citizens of the
community belongs to your family.
People do not half appreciate the
ordinary child, the normal youngster
who plays hard. gets dirty, tears his
clothes, quarrels with his brothers
and sisters and friends; forgets it in
minute, behaves like an angel and
quite the other way on occasion, gets by
in school, and generally behaves like
a normal human child. He Is the
salt of the earth. On his shoulders
this world rests. On his sturdy legs
it moves forward. Upon his sanity
it is finally balanced. The genius may
shine. the great lead the way, but
the ordinary healthy normal man and
woman carry them to their goal. And
have a good time doing It.
The ordinary, good child is happy.
He may shed few tears now and then
over his hard lot. He may want to hold
the moon in his hands and raise a
member to bring in the milk in the
howl when he fails to reach 1t, but he
will not brood over it. He Will re-
morning and take the dog for an
airing Just as usual. His day will not
be spoiled because he lost an illusion.
Parents ought to give their healthy,
normal youngsters q smile of ap-
proval now and then for being just
that. Let them see how glad you are
that they can run and Jump and shout
and shove their way through the play
ground. Smile kindly upon them when
they ask for seconds on steak and
onions. Give the report that says.
B, 3, B, your cordial approval and a
lolly-pop for good measure. Be plain
thankful that you have a perfectly nor
NAL child. Let who will, or who must,
have the gifted and the genius. You
won't shine perhaps in the reflected
light of the star, but you will know q
peace and content unknown to stars.
tcopyright. 1850