Evening star., 1939-02-22
Guard Youth
AS Long as
GirlhOOd Should
Be a Carefree
Time of Life
BY ANGELO PATRI.

II am IL years old I want to
have permanent wave set in my
hair, only at the ends, of course,
and my mother will not let me have
it. She says I am too young, and
she keeps my hair in two braids,
with curl, natural one, at the
ends. want rather long bob with
wave. How old should a girl be
before she can have such q per-
manent?"
do not know. Age does not
have so much to do with such things.
Girls are "old enough" when they
mature physically and mentally,
and that is usually some time after
II. I have known girls of 16 to be
girlish and not suffer by it in the
least. They seemed to like them
selves and a great many people
seemed to like them. A young girl,
who is girlish, is lovely no matter
what sort of beauty nature gave her
She is lovely in her own right of
sparkle and simplicity and sweet
ness
When girls take to going to the
beauty palor, cutting their hair
in strange ways, experimenting with
this kind of wave, sculptured hair,
Mimi hair, high roll and low roll,
they suffer some sort of change
that is not for the better. Painted
faces that remind one of nothing so
much as the circus clown, dyed
nails that remind one of Lady
Macbeth and her need of basin
OF water and soap, tortured eye
brows that put look of fright and
imbecility about eyes usually clear
and assured, are not scored on
beauty's side. And they certainly
add nothing of charm to the al
ready charming girl child. They
belong, if they belong anywhere, on
the stage.
enjoy seeing girls of IL look
their best. They are loveliest when
their faces are as they were given
them, free of paint or powder, eyes
shining and skin glowing. They
are best dressed when most simply
dressed. They are best hammered
when most unaffected and girlish.
A girl who is girl in appearance,
manners and dress is lovely, but one
who puts on the makeup of an older
woman, assumes the manners of an
adult and poses as sophisticated
person, is about the saddest look
ing human being to be met in
days march.
So I would say to the 12-year-
girl, and to the l6-year -old one, too,
keep your girlhood as long as you
can. 1t is yours only for a few
years. Then nature takes it from
you never to return 1t again. You
will have to take on young wom-
anhood with its obligations and
duties, its grownupness and all that
that implies. You will have good
times then, too, but they will never
be quite as carefree, quite as happy,
as these days you spend just being
a girl, playing with other girls and
boys, making no pretense of being
anything or anybody else.
Don't push your life. Enjoy it
as it comes along. The older girls
you envy would like to have the
tireless energy, the health and color,
the spontaneity of your girlhood
now that it has passed them forever.
just wait. Your turn is coming
all too soon, and there will always
be long dresses, with trains, always
boys and dances and shows. The
supply never runs out. But girl
hood vanishes never to return.
Cherish it as long as you can and
leave the permanents to the older
folk who need them to make up for
the loss of what you have in plenty.
Mr.. Patri has prepared leaf
let entitled, "A Parents Prayer"
which is an inspiring example
for parents to follow in bringing
up children. 1t is suitable for
framing. Send for 1t, addressing
your request to Mr.. Angelo Patri,
Child Psychology Department Of
this paper. Inclose q self-ad-
dressed, stamped l3-cent) envel-
one.