"'I cannot but feel that your criminal negligence in the most vital duty that can come to a parent is the direct cause in this twofold calamity: first, of the downfall of your own son; and second, of the downfall of each of the other forty boys, and of the humiliation in which they and their parents find themselves. These are hard words to say to you, but they are true, and I say them not alone as the head master of this school, but also as one father to another, and as one man to another.'" In the growing youth's mind there arise many questions that he would like to talk over with his father, but he feels diffident about asking him. Too often the boy grows up and goes away to college without ever talking with his father about manhood. In all matters concerning his business relations and success, the boy has received careful instruction. He has not been left to work out those problems by himself but is given the benefit of the experiences of those who have trodden the road before. But in this matter so vital to his whole life, he has been left to clear his own path through the woods. With no guide and bewildered with the new ideas and experiences that crowd upon him, is it any wonder he loses his way, wanders off the straight path, falls ofttimes into some bog that perhaps was hidden from his sight by surrounding flowers and to which he has been lured by siren music? The father's duty to his son is plain--and must not be neglected. In some cases the mother must attend to this duty and for the future welfare of her son she must see that he receives adequate instruction. CHAPTER XXII HOW SHALL THE CHILD BE TOLD? Every mother and every father realizes that there are certain things incident to reproduction that must be learned by the child at an early age. They realize, too, that it is preferable that this information should be imparted by the parents. But, on account of their own lack of instruction, they find two problems confronting them. How and when shall I tell my child are the questions uppermost in many parents' minds. The answer to the first question must depend upon the individual case. At a certain age a baby expresses a desire for something to bite. Before that time we make no effort to force him to bite. Later he finds he can help himself from one position to another by creeping. Then in a few months he discovers he is able to use his feet and tries to walk. We do not try to force any of these new ideas upon him but simply wait patiently until he expresses a desire to acquire some new knowledge, then we aid him and guide his efforts. There comes a time in the life of every child when he awakens to knowledge of reproduction. Then is the time to give the information. Some children commence to inquire as early as three years. At such an early age it is not necessary to go into details, as a very little information suffices to satisfy the child.