Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-11-22
Discipline
Child
Who is III
By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS. Ph.D.

DID you know that more children
from ten to fourteen die from rheu-
matte fever than from any other
disease? A large number of chill
dren Of this age range, even older
or younger, afflicted with rheumatic
fever, recover, of course. But some
of these who do recover have Grip
pied heart the rest of their life.
Any physician will tell you that
many, if not most, rheumatic fever
patients could be saved and restored
to health if his orders were always
carried out to the letter. Medical
treatment usually includes a long
period of quiet rest in bed by the
patient. But the patient may not
feel ill enough to choose to remain
in bed long enough or to rest quiet
ly. His parents are responsible for
seeing that he does. How we'll they
will succeed will depend on how we'll
the child has been guided and con-
trolled up to then.
AS I have said before in this COL
umn, we parents best prepare the
child while he is well for our sue
cessful management of him when
he may be sick. How well he has
learned at two or three, and from
then on, to respect necessary au-
thority, respond to positive sugges-
tions and to cooperate with his par
ents, will determine pretty largely
how well he will respond to such !
measures of guidance in an en1er-
gency later.
Physicians Orders
Consider also the problem of car
rying out the physicians orders
with the child having a mild case of |
one of the children's diseases, espe-
cially scarlet fever, in which rest
and quiet are prescribed by the ply
sician for some days after the child
Light like to be up and running
about.
Of course, some parents are so
wonderfully clever as to win COM
plete cooperation OF child in such |
emergency, even if he has had but |
little regard for their authority up
to then. But such parents are rela-
lively few in number. The odds are |
against the average parents who
have not established basic control of
the child earlier.
Now just imagine the child start
ed OFF under the self-denand system
of upbringing who is given what
ever he wants when he wants it.
Will he be prepared to cooperate
with his physician and parents at
ten, twelve or fourteen during con-
valescence from rheumatic fever or
from other diseases whose best
treatment requires days and weeks
of rest and quiet?
Basic Inhibitions
Always when 1 have discussed
safety to young children, l have
pointed out the value of their hav-
ing basic inhibitions in order to keep
alive and whole. No doubt, the rate
of injury and death Of children from
accidents could be halved if parents
were shown how to teach inhibitions
wisely instead of practically being
told to throw restraints to the wind.
l wonder how much the rate of death
and invalidism from many diseases
might in like manner be reduced.
In the meanwhile we might bring
up more likable and happy persons
and better citizens. (My bulletin,
"How Teach Tot Meaning of No."
may be had in stamped envelope.)
But mere restraint is not enough.
That alone may merely incite to re-
bellion. There must also be under
standing by the parents and mutual
love between them and the child.
Too, the child needs resources in
himself, needs to have enjoyed lis
4 tening to good music, stories read,
reading alone, creating for fun with
his hands, and having rich imagi-
nation we'll cultivated for years and
years. There are many good books
to be found in the public library
showing the convalescent child, any
child, how to make and do simple
things for fun. Also a number of
the children's magazines provide
good fun with purpose.
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