Evening star., 1942-07-29


struct airplanes, or doing any other
kind of labor that is needed.
Gone is the old idea that woman's
place in the world was just to be
q parlor ornament. Gone also is
the theory that while woman can
work her home without turning a
hair, she can't stand a six-hour
shift in factory, and that, any
way, there is some peculiarly about
a woman's mind that makes blue
print an insoluble mystery to her,
yet enables her to work out a perfor-
ated paper pattern at sight.
We have found out that, barring
feats Of physical strength, there
isn't much that the average man
can do that his wife and sisters and
aunts can't do just as well. Also,
maybe civilization would have been
lot "forwarder," as old fashioned
folks used to say, If women had
taken an active hand in building
it up instead Of sitting on the side
lines and criticizing the way men
did it,
There Is still another source OF
energy that We are wasting, and
that is childpower, and it is to that
I wish to call attention In the
vacation season. From the doors
Of every schoolhouse in the land
has come veritable flood of youth
and vitality and restlessness and
curiosity with a driving necessity
to be up and doing something, that
has inundated every home having
youngsters in 1t and left it prac-
tically wreck.
Mothers dread the holiday season
as they would q combined invasion
by the Japs and the Nazis, for well
they know the cry Of: Mother!
what will I do next?" Mother !!
can't 60 to Johnny's?" Mother! /!
give me dime for an ice cream
cone" will ring perpetually in their
ears, and that they will be worn to
a frazzle trying to keep their bored
children interested and amused.
Our grandparents had word
for this. It was work. In those
simple days, before the law decided
1t knew better how to rear children
than their parents do, every child
had some household chores that it
had to perform and that occupied
part OF its time, and furnished It
an outlet for some of it's superflous
energy.
Mothers taught their little daugt-
tiers how to cook and sew and wash
and iron and take care of the baby
Fathers showed their boys how to
mend the fence and paint the barn
and NOV the lawn and cut the grass
and lend hand at the thousand
and one odd jobs that keep a home
neat and tidy.
This got lot OF work done and
1t not only kept the parents from
being physical wrecks by the enc
OF the summer, but 1t kept the
youngsters happy and contented
For children enjoy doing construc.
tive work that shows results anc
they have pride when they art
made to feel that they are impor.
tant and useful members of thu
family unit.
When mother boasts that Sail,
cooked the dinner and father brag.
that Johnny washes the car better
than they do at the garage, tn.
kids get keener thrill out of il
than they do out Of watching som.
make-believe hero pull off a stunt II
the movies. They have had theil
time filled in for them pleasant,
and prof1tably. They have beer
taught habits of industry and re.
sponsibility. And they have &C.
quired skill that will be useful Il
them as long as they live.
So I urge all the poor, harassee
mothers who are working them.
selves to death cooking and clean.
ing and making sandwiches ant
getting up picnics and trying t,
think Of different ways to anus,
their children during vacation t,
call q halt on their own activities
and turn the job over to the young
sters. Let them go under their owl
power. Let them use up some O
their own supernuous energy IL
sweeping and busting and prepar