Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-06

dos. he doesn't"
Such was the plant Of a
distracted parent with whom
] talked recently. She was
discussing the difficulties Of
teaching Junior to mind his
manners"
While the problem may
seem insurmountable at
times, parents should take
heart. They are not alone in
Their misery. It's a definite
fact that teaching Junior the
rules Of good manners Is one
Of the most difficult prob
lens of child upbringing.
Parents usually are over
anxious, and naturally so,
Whether he does. or does
not, reflects on them. Fore
ing manners down Juniors
throat, so that he comes to
regard them as he does a
dose Of particularly unpleas-
ant medicine, will never make
q well-m annered child of
him. Only by patience, I'M
derstanding and example can
he be made to see the why"
Of manners.
Too often, In their at
tempts to make Junior q
good boy" parents succeed
only in making him an intro
vert with a well-developed
sense of Illustration. The
child who learns a continual
series Of "don'ts," with no
corresponding why's" is
bound to assume the attitude
that whatever he does will be
wrong, so why try. Disobedi-
ence. whining and rudeness
are the natural result Of such
tactics.
So much better If the par
ents would only realize that
Teaching a child by example,
rather than by haggling de-
tnand, will accomplish the
goal much more quickly and
lar more pleasantly. Natural
", a child must be taught,
must be corrected at times,
but too often he Is punished
unjustly for wrongdoing,
when all he has actually
done has been to follow the
old axiom monkey see,
monkey do"
For example, II Dad trips
over the parlor rug, with re-
sultant bad words, Junior
sees no reason why 1t is
wrong for him to use the
same words when he trips
over the same rug. If Mother
Is rude and snippy to the
maid, why shouldn't he be?
a parent must set a behavior
pattern. AL the admonitions
and nagging in the world will
not turn Juniors footsteps in
the right direction, If the ex-
ample is not set for him by
the two people who rule his
world-his Mother and Dad.
THE basic rule Of good
manners is. Of course, consi-
deration of other persons. He
can be taught that saying
things to hurt others is In
considerable, but the lesson
viii never be learned If Jun
Tor hears M OF her criticizing
her friends and saying I'M
kind things about them. He
viii be taught to rise from
his CT lir when a women en-
tiers the room, but he Is less
apt to re.lember this act Of
courtesy If Dad fails to do so.
Me altime should be Q
pleasant time to be looked
forward to three times a day.
A child can be taught to eat
quickly. without gulping
what is put before him. He
can be taught how to use
eating implements correctly
by following the example set
by those at the table with
him. If there is need for cor
rection, take Junior aside
after the meal, not during it.
Teaching Junior to take
pride in his m anners, and
helping him along by giving
him good examples to follow,
will do more good than all
the nagging and "don'ts" In
the world.
Questions, Answers
Question: The other after
noon a friend and I were
walking down the street
when we met her husband.
As we walked along, he
stayed in the middle, be-
tween us. Am I wrong In
thinking that he should have
walked on the outside?-Mrs.
F. L. B.
Answer: No, you are right.
A man should always walk
nearest the curb whether he
Is escorting one or two wom-
en-. He may move to the
middle when helping them
cross the street, but as soon
as they safely arrive on the
other side, he should resume
his place on the outside.
Question: Are there any
new rules governing foods
that may be picked up and
eaten with the fingers In Or
der to fit in with our infor-
NAL ways of living today? My