Evening star., 1938-08-27


child, a bright little girl of S. whom
they send to her grandparents for six
or eight months of each year so that
they may not be bothered with her
and may be free to do as they please.
The grandparents are old people who
live in another State and are very
poor. The grandfather works hard,
making each month less than the
young husband makes in week, but
the parents not only do not pay any
board for the child, but the grand
parents have to supply it with clothes,
shoes, etc. out of their scanty income.
The grandparents have told the par
ents that they are not able to care for
the child in any way, but they con-
tinue to dump her on them just the
same. Don't you think that this child
will grow up without any affection for
her parents? I may be obsolete in
my ideas, but wouldn't give up the
daily association with my youngSter
for anything in the world What will
be the result of the parents neglect of
this child, and how will it reflect in
after years? A MOTHER.
Answer-Evdently your neighbors
their child and so she is probably better
off with her grandparents than she
would be with her cold-hearted and
selfish mother and father.
No doubt her grandmother and
grandfather give her the love and ten
oerness that the little girl needs, and
they are doing the best they can to
mold the little character into form
of sweetness and beauty. and start the
little feet down the road of right living
But why the mother and father are
willing to miss their child's babyhood
passes understanding. They are cut
ting themselves out of one of the most
thrilling and interesting experiences in
life, for nothing is more fascinating
than to watch little child's mind
expand and nothing more humorous
and entertaining than to hear its naive
comments on the world as it sees it
from its highchair. Just as pure di-
version it is worth all the night clubs
and drinking places and all-night
parties that you can scare up in a
blue moon.
IT is mystery why these misguided
parents do not realize that in send
ing their child away from them for
more than half the time they are
alternating her affections from them.
Children's love Is founded on habit
and dependence, and II these are de-
MED them by ,arents who push them
out of their ,me and their lives in
order to be free. then the children
inevitably grow up not only with no
affection for their fathers and
mothers but a resentment for the
wrong they have done them.
For parents to think that their chill
dren will love them because it is their
duty to is nonsense. There is no OBJ
legation in love. Children pay back
to their parents only the affection they
receive. and in later days when these
parents expect their daughters to be
tender and devoted to them and they
End them cold and hard they will
have only themselves to blame.
But the great wrong that this selfish
end self-centered young couple are
committing is against the old people
whom they are vicitimizing for their
cwn pleasure. They are old and feeble
poor and hard worked, and it is an
outrage that anything more should
be laid upon their bent old backs when
they are already staggering along
under all the load they can carry.
No matter how sweet and dear a
child is, it is great care. There are
q million things that have to be done
for 1t, Special food has to be pre-
pared for it. 1t has to be watched
over continually and in its restless
ness, its eagerness, its bubblinp ioy