The Mother and Her ChildSadler, William S. (William Samuel)
Science
The Mother and Her Child
Sadler, William S. (William Samuel)
Child care; Infants -- Care; Infants -- Health and hygiene; Pregnancy
In the case of the older children, tell them a story of the horse
which becomes frightened, loses self-control, and tears off down the
highway, wrecking the vehicle and throwing out its occupants. Explain
to them that many of the mistakes of life are made during the times of
these emotional runaways, these passing spells of lost self-control.
Tell the little folks that you have perfect confidence in them if they
will only take time to stop and think before they talk or act. Explain
to them that since you saw that they were rapidly approaching a
foolish climax you thought it was your duty to call a halt, to stop
them long enough to enable them to collect their wits and indulge in
some sober thinking.
Personally, we have found it to be a good plan not to be too arbitrary
with the little folks, like putting them on a chair and saying, "You
must sit there one hour by the clock." They usually begin to indulge
in resentful thoughts and a situation is often produced akin to that
of the stern father who felt compelled to go back and thrash his boy
three different times during his hour on the chair, because of what he
was satisfied was going through the boy's mind. No, that is not
usually the best way. Put them on the chair with an indeterminate
sentence. I prefer to carry it out something like this: "Now, son,
this will never do; you are running away with yourself. Stop for a
moment and think. Now I am going to ask you to sit down in that chair
there and think this over quietly. I will be in the next room.
Whenever you think you have got control of yourself and have thought
this thing out so you can talk with me, you may get up from the chair
and come into the room to me." Sometimes five minutes, sometimes
fifteen minutes, and the little fellow will walk in and talk to you in
a very satisfactory manner. He will give you his viewpoint and you
will be able to adjust the matter in a spirit of conference which will
be satisfactory to both parent and child, without doing the least
violence to the responsibility of the one or the individuality of the
other.
Very little is to be accomplished, when the child starts to indulge in
an emotional runaway, if the parent contracts the same spirit, begins
to talk fast and loud, to gesticulate wildly, grabs the child, begins
to slap and shake it--that is merely an exhibition on the part of the
parent of the very same weakness he is trying to correct in his
offspring. I am afraid it is entirely too true that for every time you
shake one demon out of a child in anger, you shake in seven worse
devils. When all other methods fail and you must resort to punishment,
do it with kindness, deliberation, and dignity. Never punish a child
in haste and anger.
THE FINAL REWARD
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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