Evening star., 1939-08-17
Doctor Needs
Truth About
Your Child
Reveal Youngsters
Weaknesses Also
To His Teachers
By ANGELO PATRI.


When you want your child to get
the help he needs from the profess
sional people who are prepared to
assist him, tell the truth about him.
That is the first step in securing the
right care for him. If the teacher
or the doctor or dentist or clergy
man start work on a false under
standing it is safe to say that the
work won't take. Begin right.
This Is especially important when
entering child, of whatever age
or condition, in school. Tell the
person in charge the truth about
the child. Don't falsify his age. In
the first place the falsehood will not
alter the fact, and often the childs
age is an indication of his ability
to begin work, or carry work, and if
the teacher has the wrong idea
only the child suffers for it. Don't
falsify child's birth record lest
it come back some day to trouble
you. Birth records are used many
times in a lifetime and it is wise
to have them accurate, say for pass
port use, or military service. Even
from a practical point alone the
truth serves best. And it helps chill
dren more than any lie can ever
be forced to do.
When you are trying to get help
for backward child tell the whole
story. Answer the questions asked
you as truthfully as you can. Hid
ing the facts means hindering the
doctor and the teacher. When they
begin work with the child they soon
verify your story and if it is false
they must begin again. Time is
wasted, and along with the time
something as valuable, the faith and
the respect of those whose help you
enlisted.
Telling a teacher that a child
has always been truthful, honest,
brave and responsible, when your
very reason for taking him to the
teacher is his directly opposite be-
havior, does not serve at all The
child will soon tell his own tale in
his behavior, the teacher will un-
derstand and begin to work against
his weaknesses and toward his
strength. The untruth is useless
and costly.
I think it is very wrong to tell
outsiders the faults or weaknesses
Of children, to gossip about them
at any time. But it is quite as
wrong to hide those defects when
seeking help for the children. Tell
the truth to those whose duty it is
to cure them, but conceal them from
unhelpful strangers. Don't talk
about them even in the family.
Errow grows by acceptance. Refuse
to accept it. If you talk about it
as something settled and real, you
help fix it upon the child. Set
about getting help and screen the
child who needs it.
What is one to say to the child
himself? AS little as possible about
his trouble. He must face it square,
ly. He must know that he fails in
behavior or work, and at the same
time he must know that with help,
mostly from his own strong desire
to improve, he can do better. He
cannot be told he is a success be-
cause that would deny the truth.
He cannot be told that he is fail
ure because that would be confirm
ing his error. He can be told that
he is in need of strength for this
purpose, and shown how to get it..
He can be trained to hope, to wish
for success, and to work, under di-
rection, to get it.
The first step always is for the
parent to tell the truth as far as he
knows it to those he depends upon
for help.