Evening star., 1936-11-17
Parents Must
Grow Along
With Child
Best to Keep in Step
With Progressive
Offspring.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

THE coming Of children to young
parents seems to impose a feel
ing Of finality upon their growth.
They seem to feel that now that par
enthood has been conferred upon
them. all the delightful nonsense of
youth has departed from them. There
will be no more doing for the sake
of laughter. no more adventuring for
the ventures sake. no more foolish
ness swapping a flippant finger in
the wrinkled face of wisdom.
Please, this is not so. Do not allow
it to be so. Youth merges gradually
in experience and age, and there is
no necessity for feeling that it dies
when child is born. Rather it should
be born again. The coming of chill
dren ought to be an inspiration to
growth, to ambition and hope and the
gayety of soul that goes with them.
Men and women grow to the day of
their ending. Their power of under
standing, their power to create and to
construct and to enjoy grows with
their experiences. Especially do they
grow in understanding. and that, as
you know, is above wisdom. Rearing
a child Is a liberal education in itself,
and, taken along with the other ex-
periences of life, provides the stimulus
for adult growth. The ordinary rou-
tine Of daily living in the family pro-
vides enough of intellectual food to
develop the thoughtful parent into an
extraordinary person.
The attitude of mind counts. Once
a young mother or father-uSually it
is the mother-accepts the coming of
children as a full stop to growth the
growth is likely to stop. Then we
have the child-centered mother vino is
interested in nothing, knows about
nothing, cares nothing for anything
beyond her nursery door. Such linn
itation upon growth is a terrible bond
age upon the mother and her chill
dren. The day will come when the
children turn from her toward some
one who has kept on growing and is
consequently knowing about life as
the children live it. The parents say,
when this happens, How ungrateful
children are. We have sacrificed
everything to their needs and here
we are, left alone, while they 60
their way and find other friends,
other interests"
Grow along with the children and
this cannot happen. know that
the coming of children makes changes
in the home routine and the activi-
ties of the parents necessary, but
these changes can be made and still
leave room for the growth of the
parents. Growth Is inherent in every
one of us. It is never completed,
never checked until we allow ourselves
to check it. There is always room
for activities that one enjoys, always
time for friends and the little gath
erings of friends that make life sweet
for us. A little forethought and
great deal of determination will make
growth continuous.
Children do not need as much fol-
lowing as parents usually think nee
essary. Mothers and fathers need
more relaxation and fun and asso-
ciation with their own sort far more
than they usually think necessary.
Parental consciences are oversensitive
in this particular. Instead of feeling
guilty about taking time for self
development and self-culture, they
ought to plume themselves for it. The
growing parent Is the best parent
for the growing child.
Mr.. Patri will give personal at
tention to inquiries from parents and
school teachers on the care and de-
velopment Of children. Write him
In care Of this paper, inclosing a
3-cent, stamped, self-addressed enve-
lope for reply.