Evening star., 1945-08-14
Optimistic View
Urged dbyExpert
Stronger Home Ties
Pointed Out as
Combutive Means

WIFI tle war enQ we Will have to
make an about face and be opti-
mistic instead of overweight about
the problem of juvenile delinquency
or we never will reduce it, according
to DR.. Stanley w. Geshell, director
of the Juvenile Court psychiatric
clinic.
I'VE magnified emotional malad-
justments during the war by making
q hullabaloo over them" he said.
Now we will have to put our con-
fidence in the children and their
parents. We have got to be careful
not to view with alarm.
Although 95 per cent of Juvenile
delinquency cases originate in the
home, a program to combat. them
must be based on the fact that par
ents don't like to be told how to
rear their children, DR.. Geshell said.
Need Better Housing.
The best way to go at it, he be-
heves, Is to strengthen the home
by such indirect methods as an ade-
quate housing program and the pro-
posed mental hygiene bureau within
the Health Department.
In his opinion, schools and
churches already are doing every
thing they can. Social workers and
parent guidance groups can point
out improvements. The initiative
Will have to come from the parents.
DIR. Geshell explained that q child
becomes delinquent because he feels
insecure.
II a child has love, If he gets
praise when he deserves it, criticism
when he needs it and consistent
treatment he will develop a healthy
mental attitude and will adjust to
his community.
Money Lack Won't Help.
IF he has this. you don't have to
worry about what he will do to occu-
py himself. Loss of wartime SPEND
ing money won't matter. There is
no indication that the war has made
children more aggressive.
The war;" he continued, has
been used as scapegoat for the
very old problem of Juvenile de-
linquency. 1t increased the prob
lem only to the extent that it made
more children insecure. The amount
OF juvenile delinquency We have
after the war will depend on the
type of homes children have"
Statistics show juvenile delin-
ouency decreases during depressions
and increases during periods of
prosperity when parents spend less
time at home, DR.. Geshell said.
Getting excited about the emo
tionals EMBELLISHMENTS of children
will help no more than it. will help
in the case Of veterans suffering
from combat fatigue. If you give
the child normal home life, If you
treat the veteran like q normal hu-
man being, both will work out their
own problems" -
DR.. Geshell> would start by build
ing more homes. .'i
Calls People Lazy.
Apartment house living, he noted.
simplifies life. The time once con-
sumed in emptying ashes and now
ing the lawn could be used in read
ing and music. The trouble, as ne
sees it, is that people are lazy. In
stead OF using their extra time read
ing to the children. parents 60 to a
movie.
In home, the family shares more
responsibilities. A boy gets better
acquainted with his father while
learning from him how to repair the
lawn mower. The children share a
dog and are drawn closer together
A girl gets to know and understand
her mother while helping with the
housework.
The mental hygiene clinic is i'm
portant because parents will take a
normal interest in their children if
they are not preoccupied with their
own worries, DR.. Geshell said.
He observed that juvenile delin-
quency is lowest in communities
with strong parent-teacher associ-
ations. The PTAs are strong, he
thinks, because the parents take an
interest in their children.
The initiative, he underlines, must
come from the parents. The COM
munity can cultivate it best by un-
derStanding and Sympathy.