Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1917 — Never Laugh at Your Child, One of Four “Don’ts” That Mothers Should Not Forget. [ARTICLE]

Never Laugh at Your Child, One of Four “Don’ts” That Mothers Should Not Forget.

A few don’ts might well be conspicuously posted in niany a mother s mind. Don’t consider It necessary to systematically underrate your child. Your adult friends will know you do not mean it. but the child will not, and probably more characters are weakened by the lack of self-confidence engendered by such a process than by the vanity which follows the silly bragging of overfond parents, writes Nellie Foss Ford in Mother’s Magazine. “Don’t think that the moment you are alone with your boy or girl you must .find fault or endeavor to improve the occasion by a little moralizing, no matter In how loving a spirit. This is thenSarcEsrpFanTYdF no one is so anxious to help a child toward perfection as is its parent, yet it surely leads to an avoidance of the moments alone together, which should-be times of happy confidences. Don’t correct the child before others. Never mind if a well-meaning relative does say : “My dear, I am sur. prised that you do not show more force of character ; your children are suffering from a lack of discipline.” Pass the matter over until you and the small offender can have it out alone. If the circumstances are such that it cannot be passed over, take him out of the room. Lastly, laugh often with, but never at, your child. This takes self-denial, but it pays. Make up your mind that whatever others may say, he can depend upon you for a quick, sure understanding, without quibble or joke

at his expense. This does not mean thathe harmless fun. It is wholesome, and too much sheltering would make him oversensitive, but the mother who lets her know that she never makes fun of him will be surprised at the confidence with which he relies upon It.