Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-07-24
Problems
With the Children
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NeV Ysek CITY
The Child
Who Bargains
By EMMA GARY WALLACE

When a child is always ready to
bargain in order to get what he wants,
1t is almost certain to be the parents
or other older members Of the family
who are to blame. Sometime they
have yielded to what seemed to them
to be the easiest way-to offer bride
so as to have no argument about what
they wished to have done.
When Gertrude was asked to wash
and dry the cups and saucers which
her mother had used for an afternoon
tea. the little girl looked shrewdly at
her parent and came back instantly
with the proposition, TN wash the
cups and saucers, Mommie, II you'll
give me money to buy a red belt for
my white dress"
Gertrude was granted the money
and she collected 1t before she washed
the few cups and saucers. She even
went and bought her belt first, at
nearby store.
Can you wonder that she has grown
up demanding payment for almost ev-
erything she does?
Jackie's older sister, who was away
from home most of the time, said to
him one day, IF you will go out and
pick a quart of those nice. big straw
ueIileS loi Iie, IL puy you u pail VI
sneakers"
"Okay," responded Jackie. where
upon he walked out into the kitchen
where his mother was filling baskets
of berries and packing them in
crate. She had gone to the telephone
for a moment, and when she returned,
she looked surprised.
Why" she said to her husband who
came in for the crate of berries to
take to his customer, II thought had
the right number here, but see am
one box short. Perhaps made mis-
take"
But she hadn't made a mistake, for
Jackie had taken that box and given
the berries to his sister who was 60
ing to call on friend.
I'll bring you the sneakers when
I come back" she promised.
In this case the bargaining instinct
had led to direct dishonesty. More
over, Jackie had discovered that by
little shady practice he could get
something for nothing. Such expert
ences lead straight along the pathway
to trouble.
1t is far better for children to dis
cover for themselves. that a price of
some kind has to be paid by some
body for whatever we have. They
should learn that members Of the
same family should expect to render
reasonable service to each other and
should share with each other with
out thought Of pay or reward. and
also that good neighbors and friends
enjoy doing kind and helpful things
for each other. It should be under
stood that what may be given by way
of small allowance, Is not pay for
services, but a suitable division Of the
income for those In the home, in Or
der that each one may have some
thing he can call his own and do with
as he pleases.
It is well to call the attention. of
even the smaller children, to the fact
that daddy and mother must have
most of the money because they have
to buy the food, the clothes and the
means of keeping warm and provide
place in which to live.
Oftentimes the bargaining spirit
shows itself because the child does
not understand. No one has ever ex-
planned matters of this kind to him.
Even children Of preschool age will
bargain if they find that they can.
4Ieu DIS tlle IlIIlt cues oIl, t1lty COIut
to think of their small services as
increasingly valuable from money
standpoint and here again, we have
the beginnings of greed.
1t is a good idea to help children to
know and really understand from ex-
perience that we owe it to ourselves
and to each other to do our part,
though it may not be very big part
and that to try to take advantage, to
drive a sflrewd bargain, does not show
a praiseworthy spirit and does not
bring happiness.