The most serious results of masturbation are moral not physical. Loss of will-power, self-reliance, presence of mind, reasoning power, memory, courage, idealism, and self-control; mental and physical debility, laziness, a diseased fondness for the opposite sex, and in later years, some degree of impotence or sterility, are its commoner results. Teach _your_ child, therefore, not from fear of physical harm, but because you wish him to be one of those fortunate few who live and die "gentlemen unafraid", because they had wise parents. Let the mother instruct a girl, the father a boy, and not leave so vital a matter to an unsuitable pamphlet. Buy one of the many "Knowledge for Boys or Girls" books and read it carefully. Having made sure you can convey a simple account of the wonders of reproduction, and that you have rooted out the idea that sex is something to be apologized for, see the child and tell him it is time he learned of his private parts, as manhood draws near. Then, speaking in a quiet, unembarrassed way, deliver your little homily, all the time insisting on the marvel, the romance, the poetry and the beauty of the sex. Let chivalry be your text, not fear, and repeat the Squire's sound parting advice to Tom Brown: "Never listen to or say things you would not have your mother or sister hear." Give a clear and complete description in simple words of the mechanism and marvel of reproduction, for half-knowledge generates a prurient curiosity about the other sex, thus defeating the very end you have so earnestly striven for. Purity not impurity should be your text, and you should only refer to masturbation as a harmful habit, which should not be contracted. Warn them to "Keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life!" by turning their thoughts instantly and determinedly away from sex ideas when they arise, as they _will_ arise, time and again. It is useless to try _not_ to think of them, the child must instantly turn its thoughts to to _something else_, for one who cannot stamp out a spark will not subdue a fiercely-raging conflagration. Babies should not be carelessly caressed, and a fretful infant must never be soothed by playing with the genitals, as is done innocently by some mothers and nurses, and by others from motives more questionable. Freud showed that there are subconscious sexual desires in infants, which die out until reanimated at puberty in Nature's own way. If exaggerated by exuberant fondling, they gather force in the dark corners of the mind, and are later manifested in morbid sexual or mental perversity. If you have good grounds for believing the habit has already been contracted, enlist medical advice. A great factor in the successful treatment of self-abuse is early recognition, and, after the unhygienic nature of the habit has carefully been pointed out, the child's sense of honour should be invoked.