Roanoke Rapids daily herald. (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1948-1949, 1948-09-24
A Time To
Be'Honest
With Child
By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS, PAD.

By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS. PAD.
PERHAPS every parent has done
some things during his life he would
rather not tell to his growing child.
II told It might bs Of such nature
As to stand out in the child's mind
with undue emphasis.
II. however. the child on being
reprimanded for some misdesd were
to ask the parent Il he or she ever
did the same. the wise and honest
parent would answer Eyes" Il such
were the truth. In many instances
the parent would not wait for the
challenging question from the child
but would volunteer the confession,
especially to the child over eight
or ten.
Frank Recital
In ever 40 many situations aris-
Ing over behavior In the teen-aser
. frank recital BY 10 parents Of
similar problems or behavior by
ourselves when ut about the same
age-how the matter was dealt with
by our parents, our response then
to what they said or did, how we
felt about the matter then, how we
feel about It now and the eonse-
quences and 20 on, might prove a
precious means Of helping this son
or daughter Of ours to evaluate his
own behavior more intellisently.
Such procedure surely should help
u win the confidence and esteem
Of this youth.
Any youth Of average intelli-
gence knows very well we were not
angels At his age. We, Of course,
may not have been faced with the
same temptations which have faced
him. But We faced others, which we
did not always Withstand - cour-
ageously Is We now wish We had.
We slipped sometimes. To admit
that we did proves to our son or
daughter that we are trying to be
honest, trying to put ourselves in
his place. All the while We may be
able TO show that through the ad-
vice, rsbuks or punishment by our
parents We were able to escape some
ha3ards which we did not see at
the time but can clearly see now.
Avoid Brasging
On the other hand, there's no
good sense In our Dragging ~ some
parents do, before our children on
how terrible hellions va once were.
Instead, ~ We deem it wise TO re-
call and relate some Of our mis-
deeds in our childhood and youth
We should recognise and explain
that they were full Of moral haz-
ards. We should point out the forces
~ we now see them that helped US
escape from the moral perils which
really faced Us then.
We parents should do more. We
should admit the errors We now
recognize in ourselves, especially in
our relations to our growing chill
dren, and beg Of them forgiveness.
In that prayer I once wrote for
myself ~ parent 10 copy Of which
may be had In 4 stamped snvelope)
appears this: "Givs mo the courage
to confess my sins against my chill
dren and to beg of them forgiveness
when I know that I have done them
wrong"
As I have said in this column
before, I was often impressed with
the gracious understanding by my
own children when in their teens, of
my human frailties and with their
amazing readiness to show forgive
ness when they seemed convinced
that I was really striving to i'm
prove. I Just can't agins an honest
parent or teacher who won't feel
impsllsd to apologize many times
to the child, in order to enjoy peace
Of mind and win the child's genuine
affection and esteem.
Answering Parents Questions
Q. At how early an age should
the young child eat at the table
with the family!
A. A soon ~ he can ait there
comfortably without firing easily,
provided other members Of the
family viii mind their own business
and let him do his own eating. He
will thus gain \ feeling Of be-
longing In the family circle. Except
for ito dangers the old high chair
has great merit, and proper train
ing can remove the hazards.