■I en lUD cuirufi^ /A- (h^-£.^iiiiis Book _l/llt GopyiiglitN^. COPYRIGHT DEPOSfT CHILD CULTURE A HAND-BOOK FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS, TELLING HOW TO USE MENTAL SUGGESTION AND CHRIS- TIAN TEACHING IN MIND TRAINING, FAMILY GOVERNMENT AND CHAR- ACTER BUILDING. By NEWTON N. RIDDELL Author of "Methods of Attainment," "Service and Bible Study," "Heredity andPre-NatalCulture," "The Psychology of Success," "The New Man," etc., etc. Remitten 1915 THE RIDDELL PUBUSHERS Mailing Department 7522 Garrison Ave., Chicago, 111. ^% cour- age, application, watchfulness, thought- fulness, carefulness and faithfulness are the elements that make for effi- ciency, happiness, progress and good citizenship. II NEURONS AND HABITS Basic Facts Physiological psychology has dem- onstrated several highly important facts that everyone should understand, some of which are as follows :* 1. All sensations, conscious thoughts, feelings and emotions are related to brain and nerve action. 2. Stimuli (impulses caused by light waves, heat waves, etc.) pass over the sensory, or afferent, nerves to the brain and discharge through the efferent, or motor, nerves, resulting in sensation, volition, thought or action. 3. Repeated discharge of a given stimu- lus through the brain establishes a nerve path of connecting nerve fibrils, which tends to regulate and control the discharge of sim- ilar, subsequent stimuli, and thus determine their effects on mind and character. 4. Acts, thoughts, feelings and desires that are persisted in, or often repeated, are registered in the chemistry and structure of brain-cells, which, with their connecting fibrils, become the physical basis of similar, subsequent thought and conduct. * The following six propositions are taken from the Author's lecture on "Brain Build- ing and Soul Growth," which gives many interesting experiments. This lecture is published in full in his book, "Method." 26 Neurons a fid Habits 27 5. When sense impressions or mental imapfes have been embodied in neurons, the soul's activities in connection with the brain reproduce these embodied images in the stream of consciousness. In other words, recallinia: is accomplished by the re- functioning of the neurons, which activity reproduces in consciousness their embodied images. 6. Inherited brain-cells embody most definitely the impressions of early child- hood. The effects of these early impres- sions are changed only by persistent efTort. A child is usually more susceptible than an adult, mainly because its brain-cells are more responsive to new impressions. Brain- functioning results from either subjective or objective stimulation. When associated nerve-fibrils form contact in response to stimuli, nerve-energy is conducted from neuron to neuron, thus reproducing in con- sciousness the images they embody. By this process the phenomena of conscious feeling, thinking, willing and doing are car- ried on. From the foregoing facts we learn : (a) By repeating any mental image, thought, feeling, or desire, we may em- body it in brain-cells, (b) The brain center of any element of mind or char- acter can be strengthened by regular systematic use. (c) During the first ten years it is easy to establish the physical basis of a keen intellect, pure affections, noble aspirations, a firm will and a righteous character; but it is quite as easy to build the physical basis of opposite tendencies. 28 Child Culture Habit and Character The outward expression of both mind and character is controlled largely by habit. Habits are formed by the repetition of a voluntary act until it be- comes involuntary, and in no other way. We will and must form habits. Whatever is done by habit is done easily and naturally. Most regular ac- tivities can be reduced to habit. There- fore, one of the primary purposes of all training, physical, mental and moral, is the formation of right habits. All know the power exerted by bad habits, the wreck and ruin wrought by nerve-paths built in violation of moral law, through which wrong choice and conduct persist. But few realize that right habits formed in childhood are equally potential in producing and per- petuating right conduct. Every life process, from the simplest muscular co- ordination to the most complex mental or moral activity, is to be brought to its highest degree of perfection by the for- mation of right habits. Careless per- ception and mental laziness in child- hood become fixed habits of thought- lessness, shiftlessness and mental indif- ference, which disqualify one for a Neurons and Habits 29 studious life, or the filling of any place of responsibility. The efficient the great and the good are so largely be- cause of the potency of constructive habits. Habit Formation Habit-forming begins at birth. The purposeful motions of an infant soon become involuntary. The character elements are formed in the first few months. Regular times for feeding, bathing, etc., soon create an involun- tary demand at such times. By undue attention it is easy to make baby a ty- rant. The wise mother knows that many of the most helpful lessons of life are learned through tears and self- denial; therefore, she does not gratify every demand, but quietly, firmly per- sists in an intelligent course, to which baby soon conforms. The infant that is cuddled and rocked every time it cries, or is allowed its own way, gets a wrong start and forms brain-paths of selfishness, inconsiderateness, ungov- ernable temper — in short, a despicable disposition. Since the primary nerve- paths of habit are made during the first few years, it is imperative that they 30 Child Culture be formed along lines of obedience, pa- tience, consideration for others, self- denial and self-control. Habit by Doing Habits are formed mainly by doing. It is the repeated experiencing of an act that builds a nerve-path. The re- peated playing of a piece of music causes the fingers to find the keys in- voluntarily. It is not enough to say to a child, ''You will remember to put away your playthings when through with them." The act must be prac- ticed without variation to become habit- ual. Likewise, the habit of obedience cannot be formed by admonition only. A child must be drilled in doing as directed. For this purpose simple acts that at first cause no resistance should be selected, such as telling a child to stand, to sit, to change position; or to do some simple task, like going through the house and closing all the doors without slamming. By such drills the habit of obedience to a command is formed. Immediate and exact response should be insisted upon; otherwise a tendency toward shiftlessness, careless- ness and inexactness is promoted. I f the Neurons and Habits 31 habit of prompt obedience is fixed in a child's nature, it will tend to impel action in line with duty throughout life. Will- fulness is usually the outgrowth of dis- obedience. A child that has been taught to obey from babyhood seldom presumes to assert its will against parental au- thority, right, or duty. One may be- come so habit-bound as to destroy free- dom of choice; but the lawless spirit and lack of reverence for authority in the average American youth indicates that training in obedience is seldom overdone. Corrective Habits Bad habits are to be overcome by the formation of opposing ones. A wrong reaction is checked by the creation of a right action of greater potency. Thus, the habits of profanity, cigarette smok- ing, loafing, etc., are to be overcome by the creation of opposing ideals, and practicing them until the momentum of the new habit exceeds that of the old. Several years ago a well-known physician adopted a neglected boy, who had formed habits of disorder and shiftlessness. When he was brought into the home, he was assigned a special 32 Child Culture hook in the hall on which to hang his cap. But he would walk heedlessly by the hook into the living-room and toss his cap into a corner. Repeatedly tell- ing him to hang up his cap made no lasting impression. Finally, the Doctor said, "Charlie, can't you remember to hang up your cap when you come in as the other boys do?" The boy replied, "No, honest. Papa, I just can't think of it." "Then," said the Doctor, "We'll have to give that memory of yours a little special training. Put on your cap; go out at the back door; come around, and in at the side door. Take off your cap ; hang it on the hook ; point your finger at it and say, 'There you are.' Now take it down and put it on; go out at the back door, and do just as you did before. Do this twenty- four times without stopping." It is needless to say that after this training the boy never came in again without remembering to remove his cap and hang it up. Habit and Training Any faculty of mind or element of character can be strengthened and trained by the formation of a habit Neurons and Habits 33 that will exercise it. Thus, the habit of noticing in detail cultivates the per- ceptive faculties; the habit of writing down one's thoughts strengthens mem- ory and the power of expression. The habit of politeness cultivates agreeable- ness, suavity and self-respect. The habit of daily prayer strengthens rever- ence, faith, hope, conscience, etc. Even sub-normal faculties may be strength- ened and trained in this way. Up in the Northwest country there is an old Judge, who is widely known for his unusual capacity to quote law and court decisions accurately from memory. As a boy he was a dullard, and at the age of ten could not take the lessons of the primary school. There being no schools for sub-normal children, he was sent to the country to live with an uncle. The practical farmer soon observed that the boy did not notice anything, but went about like one in a dream. He at once began calling attention to things and compelling the lad to notice. Thus, if they were building a fence and the hammer was left behind, after awhile Uncle would say, *^Where did we leave that hammer?'* "Right by that crooked post, Uncle." "Well, well," his uncle would answer, "it's wonderful how you 34 Child Culture see and remember things." At dinner he would tell Auntie how this boy was coming to notice everything, and what a help he was. This tactful encourage- ment so stimulated the lad that he after- ward said that he used to lie awake nights trying to locate everything on the farm so as to surprise Uncle. This habit of noticing in detail so increased and trained his perceptive faculties that after three years he entered school and kept up with his classes until he became a Harvard graduate. Later he took the degree of LL.D. at Yale. In tell- ing me of his experience the Judge said, **I consider that I was saved from a life of uselessness by the practical common sense of that dear old farmer uncle." Explain to Children The law of habit should be explained to every child. As early as the age of four most children can be made to understand that a stooping posture will produce round shoulders and a flat chest, and thus prevent proper breath- ing; how a quick temper will mature into a bad disposition or sullen nature, rob one of happiness and make him dis- Neurons and Habits 35 agreeable to others; and how habitual disobedience in a little boy makes the lawless, bad man that has to go to jail. By taking the positive side, it is easy to show a child how right bodily habits produce a strong, erect body ; how con- trolling selfish impulses results in the self-mastery that makes a manly man. Thus, by explaining in a tactful way how and why habits form, and their power in influencing conduct, one can usually secure the enthusiastic coopera- tion of a child. The process is : First create the ideal and the desire for its realization in the mind of a child ; then, by encouragement and insistence, co7n- pel action unthoiit a lapse until the habit is fixed. Hillyer says : "A single omission will set back habit formation, make further omissions easier and defer indefinitely the time when the habit is to become second nature. If the parent or teacher neglects to notice the omission of the act to be formed into a habit, the habit is half undone. As James aptly puts it. 'Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up, a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.' " 36 Child Culture Play and Habit Play should be directed and made purposeful. Otherwise it becomes idle indulgence and forms habits that re- strict development and foster vice, shiftlessness and laziness. It is the effort to discriminate, or to achieve something definite, that builds brain. Hurling a stone at a mark ten times will do more to develop exactness in muscular coordination, and increase the faculties involved, than the purposeless throwing of a stone fifty times. Mak- ing mud-pies with care develops skill. The mere piling up of blocks to see them fall accomplishes little, but build- ing block-houses develops constructive power. All games that require skill are helpful, but play that merely whiles away time is as dangerous to develop- ing youth as bad associates or question- able literature. Habit Drills Children are naturally adventurous; they delight in discovery. The wise mother takes advantage of these tend- encies, and by suggesting what and how to play, and directing games, causes the formation of correct habits. Dr. Montessori's wonderful play system, Neurons and Habits 37 which educates the child by encourag- ing purposeful games, investigation, and learning by doing, is worthy of careful study and emulation in every home. Rhythmic motion, singing games and other regulated forms of bodily action not only produce poise, strength, ease and grace, but have a strong reflex influence on the artistic sense, self-respect and self-confidence. Building, making things, working with mechanical toys, drawing, etc., with a purpose, increase perceptive power and form the mental habits essential to a studious life. Children playing together under the direction of a tactful in- structor readily form habits of polite- ness, gentleness and kindness to others. The boy that learns to play fair, win honestly, and to lose without complaint or resentment will be strengthened for manhood's trials. The lad that is per- mitted to cheat is likely to continue in dishonesty when mature. It takes tact, time, patience and persistence to build right habits into brain-paths, but it is worth while.* * For extensive, detailed descriptions of habit drills the reader is referred to V. M. Hillyer's book on "Child Training," of chil- dren under seven. Ill MENTAL SUGGESTION Suggestion Explained Mental suggestion is a way of mak- ing an effective impression; a process of directing mind- force to the accom- plishment of a definite purpose; a method of influencing vital functions, correcting faults, embodying ideals, and building mind and character. It is neither hypnotism nor mental magic, but the practical application of a law of mind as old as humanity. It is easy to learn, safe to employ and sure of results. Generally speaking, all sensory and subjective impressions become sugges- tions; but only when impressions are strong enough to affect vital functions or definitely modify mind or character do they become suggestions in a tech- nical sense. If you draw a pencil lightly across a blotter, you produce a superficial mark that is easily erased; but by retracing the line several times 38 Mental Suggestion 39 you make a deep impression, and so press the lead into the paper that it can hardly be removed. You may, by bear- ing down hard, produce the same result with a single stroke, but it is easier done by retracing. Likewise, if you say to a child, ''Always close a door gently," but fail to secure its attention, your words make so light an impres- sion that they are quickly forgotten. Whereas, by concentrating your mind upon the idea, securing the child's at- tention, and together repeating the sen- tence with intense interest, you may make a deep, persistent impression that will recur in its consciousness when- ever it starts to close a door. Now, this effective, persistent impression is what psychologists call a suggestion. It differs from the superficial impres- sion only in power and permanency. Under right conditions one may make such an impression, or lodge a sugges- tion, as it is called, by pronouncing a sentence once ; but generally it is easier and more effectively done by prolonged attention and repetition. By this proc- ess any fact or ideal that can be put into words may be so lodged in the soul and embodied in neurons as to become an integral part of the child. 40 Child Culture To use auto-suggestion in self -im- provement one should see clearly and hold in mind the fact or ideal to be lodged. Then affirm it in words, to give it form. Love it, to give it life. Desire and will it, to give it power and permanency. By continuing this men- tal attitude the idea will become em- bodied. By this means one may cor- rect faults, improve the memory, gain self-control, or develop the capacity for the expression of any quality or virtue. In formulating a suggestion one should affirm the positive, as, *T can," or *'I will," rather than the negative, "I can- not," or "I will not." The one strength- ens; the other weakens. One should always affirm the exact truth, and thus avoid embodying a lie. Mind Processes Man has an outer and an inner con- sciousness generally referred to as the objective mind and the subjective mind. The soul functioning in conjunction with the brain results in conscious sen- sation, thought and volition. Its func- tioning apart from the brain results in subjective mentations and involuntary impulses. All strong objective impres- Mental Suggestion 41 sions enter the subjective nature and affect its activities. All teaching ad- dressed to the objective consciousness is effective to the degree that it is reg- istered in the subjective. The subjec- tive self is limited in objective percep- tion and expression to the functional power of the brain, and the sense organs. It is a law of action that the strong- est impulse at any given time controls conduct. It is a law of character build- ing that those suggestions most often and most impressively lodged be- come most potential. Therefore, to strengthen any power of mind or trait of character it is only necessary to lodge with sufficient emphasis such sug- gestions as are needed to produce the desired results. Science of Suggestion A mental adept, by training in con- centration, is able to create and con- tinue in consciousness a strong, clear, mental image, which is communicated telepathically to persons in a state of receptivity. This is the secret of his achievements. His words, signs and incantations induce attention, but are 42 Child Culture powerless to communicate the image were it not held definitely in his mind. Some persons have unusual suggestive power by nature, but all may acquire it by daily concentration, and the habit of interior clear-seeing — in other words, by the practice of creating a clear, strong mental image, and persisting in seeing it for a few minutes without deviation. Whoever can continue to see the mental image of an ideal as a reality, to the exclusion of its opposite, has the power of effective suggestion. The Psychotherapist sees mentally the perfection of body and function that he would have his patient realize. His treatment consists in creating this image in the subjective nature of his patient ; to the degree that he succeeds, is his treatment effective. The same law applies to mind and character building. The first essential is to cre- ate and hold a definite thought-form of the thing to be communicated. The second is to secure a state of receptivity in the child. The third is to express the mental image in concise words, slowly, earnestly and impressively. When this is done several times with intense attention, the suggestion will be lodged. To deepen and strengthen an Mental Suggestion 43 impression it should be gone over sev- eral times a day until the ideal becomes fixed in the soul and its form embodied in neurons. The main thing is the cre- ation and psychic communication of the ideal when the words are pro- nounced. Suggestion Applied Mental suggestion can be used in the treatment of mental and moral de- fects quite as successfully as in the treatment of functional diseases. Sup- pose a child is given to stealing. It should first be shown the necessity of everyone recognizing the property rights of others, and the wrong, weak- ness and wickedness of stealing. When it is convinced of the wrong and wants to do right, one should create and hold the image of exact honesty in the mind and have the child affirm, *'I do not want to steal. I can, I will be honest." When this new mental creation is strong enough to exceed in potency the tendency to steal, the child may be said to be cured. Whipping and other forms of corporal punishment are po- tential to the degree that they lodge the required suggestion. But a deep im- 44 Child Culture pression made by mental means may be quite as effectual. In using suggestion, the age, devel- opment and peculiarities of a child must always be taken into account. What is proper at one time may be harmful at another. What is right for one child at a given age, may, because of difference in development, tempera- ment or disposition, be wrong for an- other. Some children are more sus- ceptible and responsive to the influ- ence of suggestion than others; but pa- tient, persistent effort wisely directed is sure to bring results in all. Sudden, radi- cal changes are not to be expected ; they sometimes occur, but gradual growth alone gives permanency to character. To influence a child one must exer- cise self-control, judgment and tact. One should not attempt to lodge a sug- gestion when angry, or when a child is angry. The thing to be accomplished should be explained in such a way as to secure confidence and cooperation. The child should be made to feel that it has the love and sympathy of the parent, and that the two are going to work together for a definite purpose with all assurance that they will suc- ceed. Mental Suggestion 45 Aggressive Goodness The main use of mental suggestion is not in the treatment of mental de- fects and moral obliquities, but in awakening, training and developing those elements of mind and character that make for strength, efficiency, self- respect, honesty, charity and positive goodness. By putting the ideals of these into suggestions and lodging them in the subjective mind of a young child, they become controlling factors. As an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, so a few strong, positive suggestions of purity, honesty, temperance and loyalty lodged early in a child's nature are far better than much corrective treatment. It is easier to keep a child right than to correct it when it has gone wrong. The wise parent apprehends possible temptations from within and without, and builds strongly against them before they appear. Limitations of Suggestion Suggestion is limited to altering the soul's activities and expressions. It does not change the heart, the source 46 Child Culture of primary impulses. It is confined to influencing and cannot regenerate, nei- ther can it take the place of Divine grace. To expect or attempt to achieve by suggestion, brain-building, habit, or ethical culture, that which can only be done by spiritual generation and growth in grace is irrational and unscientific. This subject will be considered at length in a subsequent chapter. Truth and Suggestion Jesus said, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." ''By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Thoughts are mental creations. Desire gives them life; will gives them power; words give them form and expression, by which they are lodged in a soul and embodied in neurons. Thus truth ex- pressed in words becomes a living, po- tent, permanent influence for good. But a lie wrought into the soul weak- ens, corrodes and defiles. It is like virus in the blood, or a faulty timber in a building. A physician may give a favorable prognosis to allay fear and inspire hope. Likewise, a parent or teacher may encourage the timid, dull, Mental Suggestion 47 or wayward child with affirmations that represent the ideal rather than the pres- ent reality. But the only sane, right- eous course is to affirm truth and only truth. Thus a child purposes in its heart to obey, but through conflicting impulses and temptations is often dis- obedient. The truth should be de- clared, **You want to be obedient. You can be, etc." By the repetition of the ideal the child is strengthened in its will and purpose, making obedience easy and habitual. Prefixing Character The proper time to correct a child's disposition by suggestion is when it is good-natured and removed from temp- tation. By prefixing in the mind what one will or will not do under a given provocation it is possible to substan- tially predetermine conduct. Thus, sup- pose a child has a violent temper. This tendency, whether hereditary or ac- quired, is related to psychic conditions and neurons, which, in response to stimuli, react in anger. Now what is wanted is to prefix the soul while it is calm against such reactions. Sugges- tions calculated to accomplish this are : 48 Child Culture I can control my temper. I will con- trol the expression of this evil impulse. I will repeat this over and over in the presence of temptation until I stop get- ting angry at every provocation. It may not be possible to so influence a child that it will never get angry; but patient, persistent training will check the temper under ordinary provocation and restrict it from violence even under trying circumstances. A Practical Experiment The foregoing proposition was pre- sented at a Chautauqua Assembly. The following day I was invited out to dine. When dessert was served, which con- sisted of ice-cream and cake, a four- year-old boy accepted instead some milk and crackers, eating it cheerfully. After dinner I congratulated his mother on the good behavior of her boy, when, to my surprise, she said: *This is un- usual, and his papa and I are delighted. He is an only child and being of a nerv- ous temperament we have allowed him to have his own way. Yesterday I attended your lecture and noted what you said about prefixing decision in the absence of temptation. This morning. Mental Suggestion 49 when it was decided to have ice-cream for dessert, I thought it a good oppor- tunity to test the method. The boy is fond of ice-cream but it does not agree with him. After breakfast, when he was not hungry, I took him in my arms and told him what w^e were to have for dinner. I reminded him that ice-cream always made him sick, so we must get him something else. We talked over what he would like and decided that he should have milk and crackers, then he would be well and could go out to the grounds. He agreed. Several times during the morning we repeated to- gether what he was to have for his des- sert. He has been indulged and spoiled, and I tell you frankly, if his will had not been prefixed he would have had his portion of cream or made it uncom- fortable for all of us." The Montessori Method The Montessori method gives spe- cific and detailed directions for awak- ening and educating the senses, powers of perception, memory and imagina- tion; also the emotions and higher sen- timents. Dr. Montessori's system is largely the outgrowth of experiments 50 Child Culture with defective and sub-normal chil- dren; but normal children trained by her methods progress much faster with less effort, and pass higher examina- tions at a given age, than under the old regime. The essentials of the system are the tactful awakening of natural but intense interest, and the wise direc- tion of this interest to the acquisition of useful knowledge and the develop- ment of mental faculties. The Doctor aims to systematically and harmoni- ously develop all of the functions of body and mind. Concerning intellec- tual training she says: 'The teacher must seek to limit the field of the child's consciousness to the subject of the les- son. For this she should use a method tending to isolate the inner attention of the child, and fix it upon the perception of the fact or thing to be learned." The Art of Teaching Once secure a child's enthusiastic in- terest in a subject and it will educate itself along that line. If there is but one hour for study it is better to spend three- fourths of that time, if need be, in creating a desire to know, than the whole time trying to drill something Mental Suggestion 51 into a child's mind that it does not care to know. Experience proves that what- ever occupies an active mind to the ex- clusion of everything else is never for- gotten. A divided attention is sure to result in an imperfect perception, hence a faulty memory. One thing at a time is the way of exact education, but a child should not be required to concen- trate long enough to become wearied. Perceptive Training To increase and train perceptive power in a child the teacher should first secure attention by awakening interest, then point out details of the thing to be perceived. This noticing in detail will make an accurate, lasting impres- sion. Suppose a child is to be trained in perception of form and location. A good subject is the study of the geog- raphy of a state. Boundary lines and the principal rivers should be carefully traced, and the location and relative position of towns and cities pointed out. These details gone over several times with attentive effort to notice form, size and relative position will increase perceptive power. Likewise, in the per- ception of colors, tones, things, facts, 52 Child Culture truths, ideas ; in short, everything about which one would have exact knowl- edge, it is the effort to discriminate and perceive in detail that develops capac- ity. This method may be supplemented by suggestion, thus: Say to the child, "You will notice this and that. You will not forget, etc." One child will readily perceive and recall forms, but will not remember names. Another may perceive both of these but forget places. Therefore, special attention should be given to the thing a child fails to notice, and to lodge sugges- tions calculated to strengthen deficient faculties. Memory Through Association Memory, like perception, is a com- plex function of the mind resulting from the combined activity of many primary elements, some of which may be strong while others are weak. There- fore, memory specialists lay much stress on associating things difficult to remem- ber with those easily recalled; and connecting newly acquired facts or per- ceptions with those already fixed. Thus if one have a good memory of faces, but a poor memory of names, by habit- Mental Suggestion 53 ually pronouncing the name whenever the face is seen or thought of, the asso- ciation will soon make one recall the other. Or, if a child has a good verbal memory, but lacks perception of order, by naming the details of a process in the order in which they come, recalling the names will reproduce the mental image of the order. To use suggestion in memory cul- ture, one should require a child to fix its mind intently on the thing to be re- membered, and while thus thinking with concentration, repeat slowly and impressively the facts, figures or forms of things to be recalled, then say ear- nestly, "You can, you will, remember this." Here repeat the thing to be re- membered. By encouraging this defi- nite method of fixing things in the mind and refunctioning them at will, the process will soon become habitual and thus form the basis of accurate perception and a good memory for life. Learning to Think Every child should be taught to rea- son. It should be encouraged to dis- cern the relations of cause and effect. It should be induced to find out for it- 54 Child Culture self the why and wherefore of things; to make its own plans; to weigh facts and draw conclusions. If, instead of answering questions, one supply a child with the necessary facts, and teach it how to make deductions, it will soon learn to think out the answers to many of its problems, and thus increase and train the reasoning faculties. This method, however, should not be over- done. It is unwise to crowd any part of a child's education beyond the nat- ural order of development. There is a temptation to encourage precocious children to go beyond their grades, but such should rather have their energies directed to athletic sports and physical culture. Teach the child to delight in a well- formed, strong, pure body as a means to prolonged health, happiness and efficiency. TV GRACE AND GROWTH Godless Ethics In this chapter we are to study meth- ods of Christian character building. In the preceding chapters we have seen how new forms of intelligence, ideals and habits are embodied in neurons, and how suggestion may be used in in- fluencing natural tendencies. But let no one suppose that such methods, how- ever persistently and skillfully em- ployed, can produce a regenerate heart or primary righteous impulses. Some people reject spiritual birth and Divine grace. They want the sunshine with- out the sun. the effect without the cause, the Christian virtues without Christ. This is irrational, impossible. No one can come to God through eth- ical living and noble deeds only. There is an inherent necessity for spiritual quickening. "Ye must be born again." applies to all. From the beginning God was the life-giver, the law-giver, the 55 56 Child Culture grace-giver. From these all true ethics and virtues have come. Unregenerate moral people are what they are largely- through good inherent tendencies from Christian ancestors and religious in- fluences. In other words they are liv- ing on inherited and appropriated grace. But, since we cannot separate an attribute from its source and retain its potency, the momentum of hered- itary Christian impulses must soon run down unless vitalized. Hence, God- less ethics are powerless to produce and perpetuate righteousness. The place to begin Christian character building is in the heart. The first essential is regeneration. Knowledge Insufficient Educators say that all purposeful right conduct is necessarily coordinant with right knowledge. But right ac- tion does not always follow right knowledge. Why? Because some- thing more than knowledge is needed to control the will. Jesus said, 'Tf a man love me he will keep my words." Here is another motive. Both knowl- edge and love are essential. Volition springs from two sources, knowing and Grace and Growth 57 desiring. Knowledge tells how and why, but affection impels action. Most educators, child culturists and reform- ers depend too largely on knowledge. This is why their efforts are but partly successful. Out of the heart are the issues of life. The heart is the source of primary impulses. Right loves give rise to righteous impulses. Any sys- tem of education or training that neg- lects the inspiration and cultivation of right affections must ultimately fail. Baby Christians Jehovah said, "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." The acceptance of this gift through Jesus Christ is of first im- portance. No element of character is right that is not rooted in Divine love. Babies have a natural capacity for ac- cepting this gift and starting right. Jesus recognized this, and blessed them saying, ''Of such is the kingdom of Heaven.'* What folly, what insanity, to build the impulses of an unregener- ate heart into neurons and nerve-paths ; and thus produce a sin-full flesh to war against the Spirit in later years! If a baby's brain-paths are built from the 58 Child Culture beginning by impulses that spring from Divine love, goodness is inwrought made natural and spontaneous. Reader, if you are interested in even one child, permit me to urge you to begin aright, and by teaching and ex- ample win the child's heart to love and trust Jesus. It can be done. If you are living a consecrated Christian life, the "Spirit of Truth" and the "Word" will guide you. Do not wait for ma- turity of mind. As soon as a baby is old enough to love and trust its parents, it is old enough to love and trust Jesus. Whoever can love and trust Him can receive Him, and with Him the gift of regeneration and Divine love. Put it to the test, in faith believing, and you will not be disappointed. Christ in the heart of your child as the fountain of its life, and growth by His grace, make possible righteous attainment. Creative Processes Love begets life. As is the love so is the life created. Pure love, pure life: vile affections, vicious life. What we love we tend to become. If we love war and strife, we are soon filled with a militant spirit. If we love art and (.race and Groivth 59 beauty we embody them. If we love truth and knowledge, we acquire them. If we love God with the whole heart, mind and strength, we become God- filled. In short, we are the fruition of our affections. Therefore, create in a child right loves, and you are sure of right impulses, conduct and character. The heart of a child is the most sen- sitive, responsive center of life known to science. Wlioever has the grace and the wisdom to control this center aright can mould the disposition. The changes wrought in the character of bad boys by Judge Ben. B. Lindsey and other Juvenile Court Judges prove the power of love and confidence. Years ago one hundred waifs from New York City were distributed among Indiana farm- ers. One of the boys was taken to a Sunday-school picnic, where he rescued another lad from drowning. The crowd gathered about the young hero, extol- ling his courage and presence of mind. A minister drew the little, wet, shiver- ing body close to him and said, "What can we do to repay you for saving this boy's life?" The waif, with eyes full of tears from this touch of kindness, and lips blue with cold, said, 'Tlease, sir, if vou really want to do som'fin for 60 Child Culture me, tell somebody to love me, wo'nt ya ?" This was his supreme need. This is what most waifs need to make good citizens of them. The mother-love squandered on cats, parrots and poo- dles, if wisely bestowed, would re- claim and transform all the waifs of America. Divine Grace Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for thee." Divine grace is spiritual vitality communicated by the Lord to the members of His body. It is the sap from the vine to the branches, by which growth and fruition are brought forth. A branch must be connected with the vine to receive sap. Likewise, a soul must be vitally connected with Christ through regeneration to receive His grace. Whoever has this vital con- nection and has learned to appropriate grace has the secret of Christian growth. "I am the vine; ye are the branches." Whatever is in the vine is communicated by the sap to the branches. This sublime fact makes possible the realization of Christ formed within. Every inherent and ac- quired evil tendency is to be eradicated by putting off the old, sinful nature, Grace and Growth 61 and putting on Christ. This transfor- mation is accomplished through grace. The process is : (a) Reckon the old self dead, that is, crucified with Christ; and keep it in the place of death, (b) Through love, faith and obedience ac- cept the fullness and perfection of the new life in Christ Jesus. To get this process into the mind and heart of a Christian child it should be told of Jesus' love for children; that He is ever present, able and willing to protect and help them by manifesting His goodness, wisdom and power in and through them. Teach the follow- ing facts: (i) Christ has put His Spirit in you. He is the source of your life, strength, purity, goodness, and all other virtues. This Spirit becomes manifest in you by your loving and trusting Jesus and asking Him in faith for it. (2) When you pray for grace to do right, know with absolute cer- tainty that it will be given you. Ac- cept it at once, then try your very best, and Christ's power will come into ex- pression, enabling you to do His will. (3) Recognize that your strength and victory are from the Lord. Thank Him for them and rejoice in His pres- ence, and both faith and strength will 62 Child Culture increase. You can overcome every fault and temptation, and acquire any virtue through Divine grace. The Lord is your ever present help when you are striving to do right. When these teachings have been given, say to the child: 'The new spirit Jesus gives you, we will call the grace-boy, and the old spirit that wants to be naughty we will call the bad-boy. The grace-boy is God's child ; he is al- ways good, truthful, obedient, etc. This grace-boy is stronger than the bad- boy, and can, with Jesus' help, always do what he knows he should. This bad-boy wants to do wrong, but he can't do it unless he gets into the grace-boy's heart; so we will tell him to be gone. We don't want any bad- boy inside this grace-boy to make him do wrong." By teaching the child to identify himself with Christ as the grace-boy, and fixing the fact in mind and heart that he can resist all the sug- gestions of the bad-boy and be the strong, true grace-boy, he will have both the ideal and the power to grow aright. Christianity, to be apprehended or appreciated by a child must be ex- pressed through human personalities. Grace and Growth 63 The surest way to awaken in children a love for the good, the pure, the noble, the beautiful and the true is to live these qualities before them. Another effective way is to read and tell them stories that embody right ideals and teaching. Children are hero-worship- ers. If their minds are filled with the heroes of sensational stories they want to be outlaws and criminals. If they hear and read of the heroes of truth and righteousness, of valor and self- denial, of patience and loyalty, they are inspired to become like them. Obedience and Progress "The chief end of man is to glorify God.'' God is glorified by becoming manifest in the human heart, and find- ing expression in purpose, thought and conduct. To the degree that one be- comes Spirit-filled and expresses the Christ-love, life and character, to that degree does one glorify God. This fundamental truth should be made the reason for absolute obedience to the Divine will as revealed in His Word. Again, what glorifies God most is best for man ; for His glory is man's attain- ment. Only by receiving His Spirit, 64 Child Culture and giving expression to His attributes are true growth and real progress made possible. Failure to comply with this law is the cause of continuance in death, arrested growth, distorted per- sonality, and inconsistencies in life and character. Therefore every child should be taught that obedience is the primal virtue, the root from which all other virtues grow. No child should be allowed to disobey the laws of life, truth, justice, kindness, etc. Disobe- dience in childhood means lawlessness in youth. The country is surfeited with delinquent boys and girls because parents fail to insist on obedience. Make no mistake. The rights of a child are not infringed upon by exact- ing obedience to moral law. Liberty is not license; and the earlier a child learns to conform to law, to act in keeping with the rights of others, but most of all according to the expressed will of God, for His glory, the more correct will be its development and the higher its attainment. Love and Obedience "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy souk and with all thy mind and with all thy Grace and Growth 65 strength : thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Why? Because perfect love with understanding begets right impulses, motives and conduct. This one great commandment fulfilled makes the fulfillment of all other command- ments spontaneous, agreeable and nat- ural. No soul can grow aright, or come to its highest and best that is not actu- ated by love. This perfect love is a gift of the Lord, and comes into ex- pression through His manifestation in the heart. When the child has this gift it should be inspired by precept, prayer, and persuasion to give expression to perfect love by perfect obedience. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Many parents try to compel obedi- ence by punishment. This is better than to allow disobedience; but force should be a last resort. Others com- mand with an authority that implies coercion. This, too, is an appeal to law rather than grace. The grace- child is a child of love. Therefore, the wise Christian parent seeks first to in- spire love that will beget a desire to obey. Obedience gained from this mo- tive tends to right conduct in the fu- ture; while obedience obtained by coercion often begets a tendency to 66 Child Culture break away from parental authority. Young men and women reared under strict compulsory obedience, when freed from restraint, often become law- less. Had their right conduct sprung from right affections there would have been no such lapse. From this and much more that might be said it is evi- dent that the first move toward obedi- ence from right motives is the inspira- tion of perfect love. Conscience and Obedience "Children, obey your parents, for this is right." The second great essen- tial is to teach the child that obedience is right in the sight of God; that it is a requirement of the law of growth; that it is a demand that must be met by everyone that would become strong, pure, noble and true; that conscience, the still, small voice that speaks in the heart, must be heeded. No grace-child can grow that does not listen to and obey this inner voice. 'Tarents, provoke not your children to wrath." This admonition is vital. Too often a parent's command springs from irritation, selfishness, or that form of unreasoning bigotry that de- Grace and Grozvth 67 mands obedience to display authority. The thoughtful parent acts from love and truth, speaks out of kindness, has a sympathetic understanding of a child's innate rights, and gains response by awakening right impulses. Perverting Children Parents that do not understand the laws of psychology frequently develop undesirable traits in their children by appealing to, or governing them through their appetites and propensi- ties rather than through intellect and moral sentiment. Thus ]\Irs. A gains obedience by promising her boy candy; Mrs. B hires her boy to do right; Mrs. C threatens to punish, and Mrs. D appeals to pride, telling her child how everyone will approve. Each secures action from a wrong motive ; and since every time we exercise a power we strengthen it, Mrs. A's boy becomes perverted in appetite; Mrs. B's boy develops the commercial instinct to where he will not do anything unless paid for it; Mrs. C's boy will not act unless driven; and IMrs. D's child be- comes vain, and has no conscience be- yond the approval of others. Each is 68 Child Culture perverse in his way. Each mother wonders why her once good little boy has become so selfish, willful or dis- obedient. The why is evident. Con- tinual excitation of the propensities to the neglect of the moral sentiments has developed the former so in excess of the latter as to make them ruling mo- tives. The wise parent never appeals to propensities that are already too strong. Children that are governed through their appetites in infancy are usually governed by them in maturity. The Better Way Love, intelligence and conscience should rule everyone. A child should be governed through these three fac- tors in early life that it may be gov- erned by them in mature years. To develop these qualities they must be frequently appealed to and made the principal motives of conduct. Suppose a mother requests her child to do a cer- tain thing. If it refuses, she should explain why it should be done. This will awaken thought. If the child still refuses she should appeal to conscience, saying, ''You know this is right. You want to do right, etc." This will tend Grace and Growth 6^ to quicken conscience. Again, she may appeal to affection, that love for mamma may inspire obedience. If none of these are effective she should say quietly but firmly, ''You must. You know it is right. Now, if you will not do what you know you should, then for your good I must compel you." Here it is well to explain how all have to obey the laws of the state; or how papa and mamma have to do right; that it may see its case forms no ex- ception. Few mothers have the time to pursue this course often, neither should the child be so indulged as to come to expect it. But if done often enough to awaken these higher ele- ments and to show the child that there is a reason why. and a law that com- pels obedience, it will soon come to act without an explanation. It is sometimes necessary to spat lit- tle meddling fingers. The young ex- plorer is sure to trespass on the rights of others and meddle with forbidden things. 'Thou shalt not," applies to all ; and the child should early learn this lesson. Now, since it can feel before it can think, switching or spank- ing is often the quickest and surest way to make an impression. "Rut such 70 Child Culture means should be used as little as pos- sible and stopped altogether when a child is old enough to be governed with- out them. Corporal Punishment "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." "He that spareth his rod, hateth his son ; but he that loveth him chasteneth him be- times." "The rod and reproof give wis- dom; but a child left to himself bring- eth his mother to shame." Some form of punishment is required in the train- ing of every child, but this does not necessarily imply whipping. As before indicated, the effort at correction should begin with the highest elements respon- sive to influence. If none of these, with appropriate suggestions and instruc- tions, prove effective, then corporal punishment is not only justifiable but commendable. The following sugges- tions will serve as a guide to construct- ive discipline : I. All punishment, whether mental or physical, should be corrective and remedial rather than penal or retali- ative. Grace and Growth 7\ 2. All punishment should be the re- sult of due consideration of the nature and cause of the offense. Frequent slapping or whipping children without considering their rights or motives makes them deceitful, rebellious and discouraged. It makes them hate home and parents. It causes them to confide in others, and starts them on the way to recklessness and ruin. 3. One should never punish in anger, lest the wrong thing be said or done; nor while the child is angry, because it is incapable of receiving right im- pressions. If the punishment is justi- fiable at all, it may as wxll be adminis- tered later when both parent and child are normal. 4. It is unwise, dishonest and in- human to terrorize a child with threats that are never to be carried out. A warning of punishment should always be carefully worded, giving the exact reasons why, that the child may clearly understand its duty, and w^hat to ex- pect. Then, in case of disobedience, the promise should be fulfilled to the letter. 5. With most children it is w^ell to make no inflexible rule. Conditions and circumstances must be taken into 72 Child Culture account. Motives should always be considered more than conduct. A sin- gle wrong act seldom merits punish- ment, certainly not if the child has not been properly instructed. Only will- ful disobedience or habitual careless- ness justifies punishment. 6. A reasonable degree of personal freedom is not only allowable but to be encouraged. Continuous restraint pro- duces contempt for law and authority. It is unjust and unwise to punish a child for expressing its individuality. As long as its intentions or acts do not wrong itself or others there is no cause for offense or chastisement. 7. Before whipping, a child should be made to understand that it is not being punished out of revenge, but to help it to do right. The nature of the offense should be carefully gone over, that the child may see how willful per- sistence in wrong makes punishment necessary. It should be made to feel that the punishment is prompted by love and duty. When mind and con- science have been duly impressed with the gravity of the offense, and the necessity for corrective discipline, the strap should be used with sufficient se- verity to make an effective, lasting im- Grace and Grozvth 73 pression. After whipping, the parent should take his child in his arms and pray God's blessing on the punishment. Love Never Fails Sportsmen once thought it necessary to whip their dogs and horses in train- ing; now they know that correct in- struction and kindness are more effect- ive. If parents always had the wisdom and grace to do and say the right thing at the right time, the normal child could be brought up aright without physical punishment. Not far from Chicago there is a wise, good doctor, who has adopted some forty children, and reared them without whipping. His method is right teaching for the head, and right loves in the heart. When a child is persistently disobedient he takes it to an upper room, goes over the case care- fully, making corrective suggestions: then together they take the problem to Jesus and ask for grace to do right. By this means right knowledge is given. right desire created, and grace to will and to do obtained. As a result al- ready more than a score of noble, Christian young men and women have gone out from his home to live the victorious life. 74 Child Culture Family Devotion Family devotion should be made a vital means of Christian character building. Appropriate prayer in the morning for each child, calling its name before the Lord and asking in faith for grace and wisdom for the day, brings the child face to face with its needs, and with Jesus as its source of supply. This begins the day aright. In the evening, a family conference should be held, and the day's activities reviewed. If Mamma or Papa, Mary or Johnnie has made a mistake, it should be con- fessed. By the parents leading in these confessions, a frank statement is ob- tained from the children, which is in- valuable in keeping in touch with and directing them. No matter how bad the revelation, this is not the time for sharp rebuke or criticism, but for love, sympathy and patience. Any serious mistake should be taken up at a future time by one of the parents, and due counsel given in private. When all have confessed their mistakes, repented of them and accepted forgiveness, it is time for joyful testimony of tempta- tions resisted, of trials overcome and victories won in the name of Jesus. Grace and Groivth 75 Enlarge and magnify in the mind of the child the power of the Holy Spirit to enable one to do and to be. Teach the children to depend on grace; to rejoice in it. Make the evening devo- tion one of praise and thanksgiving for this saving, strengthening and keeping power. Conclude with prayer, each being given an opportunity to take part. Ordinarily, the best time for these devotions is directly after the morning and evening meals. Only a few moments are required. Every statement should be brief, personal and direct, expressive of the immediate problems of each member of the fam- ily. Formal prayers and phrases often repeated are burdensome to children, and ineffective because not represent- ing an honest expression of a heart's desire. But direct talking to Jesus about personal needs, with praise and thanksgiving for His gifts, is a means of grace, interesting and inspiring. Pitv Children compelled to say, "We never heard our parents pray." Should such from paths of virtue stray. 'Twould be awful, awful, awful. LITTLE LESSONS Self-Examination To proceed wisely in child-training one must analyze self. Personal pecu- liarities modify judgment and tend to determine one's way of governing. Those that are firm govern too largely through firmness. The affectionate ap- peal too much to the affections. The overconscientious exaggerate the sense of honor to the neglect of other essen- tial elements. Unless these natural tendencies are resisted one will often pursue a wrong course. Again, the faults of parents are frequently trans- mitted to their children in an exag- gerated form. The parents not recog- nizing these faults in themselves blame the children. Thus, the egotistical father cannot get along with his haughty daughter; and the quick-tem- pered mother has no patience with her fiery, impulsive boy. Parents, by dis- 76 Little Lessofts 77 covering and correcting their own faults, will avoid conflict and be better able to govern their children aright. Individual Peculiarities There are no two children alike. The management and education of each child should be adapted to its pe- culiar needs. What is right for one may not apply to another, and be harm- ful to a third. There are seldom two children in a family that can be prop- erly developed or governed by the same methods. Human nature is so little understood that a child is often an enigma to its parents. But if they will study their own peculiarities, and watch the early tendencies of a child, they may discern its dominant traits. Training should be adapted to awaken and strengthen weak elements and curb those that are too strong. The ideal should include a healthy body, vigorous energies, normal appetites, pure affec- tions, worthy ambitions, refined tastes, pronounced moral convictions, a trained intellect, a decided will, a kind forgiv- ing spirit, a deep sense of reverence, an abiding faith in God, and an unfalter- ing zeal for truth and righteousness. 78 Child Culture A Fundamental Law Like excites like. This fundamental, psychological law should ever be borne in mind in dealing with the child. An angry word excites anger; selfishness begets selfishness; love awakens love; a frank, communicative way unlocks the heart, and makes it easy for one soul to reveal its thoughts, desires and aspirations to another. Therefore the surest and quickest way to produce a given emotion in a child is to express it ourselves. Parents are too often actuated by impulse rather than by rea- son and judgment. A man with the wisdom and discretion to successfully manage great business interests will lose his temper in the management of his children. Silent Influences What we are, more than what we say, determines our influence over oth- ers. A calm, kind, considerate, self- possessed spirit is more effective in the government of children than many words without composure. Our silent influences become subjective sugges- tions. A dissipated or dishonest father Little Lessons 79 may silently lodge suggestions that lead his children astray. He may teach the ways of truth and righteousness; but what he liz'cs is more potential than what he says. This applies with equal force to all conditions, good and evil. By living, desiring, thinking and will- ing the noble and the true, parents may silently create corresponding activities in their children. Partiality It is difficult to be impartial. De- spite our most earnest efforts we are prone to favor those we like. This nat- ural tendency should be guarded. To manifest indifference or dislike for one child and tender interest in another, when duty demands the same treatment of both, is inexcusable. Children are quick to discern slights and preferences. They are often discouraged because of partiality in the school-room. Par- tiality in the home makes them jealous, rebellious, or indifferent. Justice knows no law but equity. If our feel- ings incline us to favoritism they should be restrained that action may come from judgment and conscience. 80 Child Culture Parental Authority Parental authority should be exer- cised only to the degree necessary to induce a child to do right. A child should be taught to do right for right's sake; to obey because parental author- ity represents law. This is wholesome discipline ; but to compel a child to do a thing just because its parent says so, without explaining why, often re- sults in a sense of slavery or rebellion. Continually domineering over children restricts their development. Many as- sume that when a child has been taught to obey every command without resist- ance, they have made a success of fam- ily government. Not necessarily! If obedience is the result of an undevel- oped individuality, a crushed will, or a suppressed conscience, their assumed success is a tremendous failure. The true parent is a protector, a counselor, a wise and sympathetic critic, a faith- ful friend. He never belittles a child's efforts, no matter how imperfect. His word is encouragement, his smile an inspiration, and his touch tenderness and love. Little Lessons 81 Children's Rights Children have certain inalienable rights that parents should recognize. The fulfillment of a law from desire or intelligence makes one free from the law, and justifies liberty for continu- ance in a right course. Words and acts that wrong no one sHould not be restrained. The individual soul must obey its impulses, must feel, think, act, in order to grow; must come to the consciousness of, *T am; I can; I will." God encourages by law and precept the righteous expression of the inner na- ture. The wise parent recognizes this necessity of the child, and promotes freedom of choice and fullness of individualism. Encouraging Decision Every child should be trained to ex- ercise judgment and make decisions without the help of others. This is necessary for mental and moral growth. How can a child become a law unto itself if parents make all decisions and insist on compliance with them? In- stead of saying, "You can, or cannot do a thing," the proper way is to give 82 Child Culture the facts and evidences for and against a proposition, then say, 'Think this matter over. You will want to do what seems right." A child had better do wrong occasionally through error of judgment or lack of will than fail to develop the elements of self-control. A small boy came running into his father's study, saying, *Tlease, Papa, give me a quarter. I want to go to the show with the boys." The father, although knowing the questionable character of the show, handed his boy the money, saying, "What about tak- ing Mamma and Sister? They like to see ponies and dogs perform." "No, Papa, I'm afraid it's a little tough, an' I wouldn't want to take them." "In- deed! Well, if it isn't fit for Mamma and Sister, shall you and I go ?" "Now, Papa, you don't want to go to that show." "O yes, I do, \i you are going. But you attend good shows ; and if this one is not first-class, you will not take me to see it." "Now, Papa, the boys are all going, an' I want to go with them." Here the father put his arm around his boy, and looking kindly into his face, said, "I know it's hard for a fellow to resist the gang-pull ; but you are strong and independent. You Little Lessons S3 know what is right, and I can trust you to decide for us. Lie down on the sofa and think it over, and if you decide that you must go, let me know and Fll get ready to go with you." The boy threw himself down and turned and twisted from side to side. Finally, after being still a few minutes, he jumped up, threw down the quarter and said, "Papa, we won't go." The father slapped him on the back, hugged him close and said, "Good boy! you won out." This self-mastery was worth fifty decisions made by another. Self-Government For a child to act aright without external authority, it must know what is right and what is wrong. It must have a trained conscience sustained by grace, to give the desire to do right, and the will to do as well as it knows. The basis of right and wrong may be summed up thus : Any desire, thought, or act, that is truly helpful to self or others is right. Whatever injures self or others is wrong. But this must be made intelligible to the child according to its age and needs. Conscience can be strengthened by awakening love for 84 Child Culture God and His commandments, and by teaching that right purposes are joy- seeds that produce future happiness; that the inner voice that prompts, "This is right," or 'That is wrong," must always be obeyed ; that disobedience to this is sure to bring pain, regret, and remorse, and if persisted in, sin and wickedness. The affirmations, *T can, I will, do what I know to be right: I have the strength, by Divine grace, to control not only my acts, but my thoughts and desires," tend to strength- en the will. When knowledge and con- science make a right choice, and the will is so sustained by grace as to per- sist in the choice, self-government and right conduct follow. Scolding and Threatening Herbert Spencer, in his essay on "The Rights of Children," says, 'Tt is a real sin against the child's nature to scold it. There may be times when a short, severe reprimand, which is far from being scolding, is necessary; but constant scolding, which is nothing but fault-finding, is an error into which many excellent parents fall. It has lit- tle place in any true system of family Little Lessons 85 government." The child that is scolded for every little thing, and continually found fault with, often becomes hard- ened or spiteful. Its finer feelings are blunted, its self-respect dwarfed, and its worst elements accentuated. One should never make threats or promises that are not to be fulfilled. Obedience gained through deception reacts in dis- respect. A mother, traveling, said to her little boy, **If you don't sit down I'll throw you out of the car window." The child did not sit down. Doubtless his past experience had taught him that his mother often made threats and promises she did not fulfill. The Black Man Fear is father to many diseases. Fright shocks the nerves and may even cause death. Frightening children is a barbaric method of discipline. To com- pel a child to go to bed or stay in its room for part of a day by way of pun- ishment is commendable ; but to shut a timid child in a dark closet, or frighten it with stories of ''the black man," is pernicious. Such practices frequently result in neurosis, indigestion, hyper- sensitiveness, sleeplessness, peevishness, 86 Child Culture morbid imaginings, etc. A mother once brought me a fretful, emaciated child, saying that it was often disturbed by bad dreams, and was intensely ner- vous. While we talked the little one went to the door. The mother, affect- ing fear, said, ''Come back quick. The black man'll get you! He's coming !'* The little one ran to its mother quiver- ing with fear. I said, "There is the cause of your child's bad dreams and extreme nervousness. These horrid day images are repeated at night." Many children have been frightened into cowardice, frightened into ill- health, frightened into premature graves, by bug-a-boo stories. A Willful Child A mother once consulted me concern- ing her seven-year-old boy, saying that he was so willful she could do nothing with him. She said she had scolded, whipped, and tried to buy him, but all to no avail; he would have his own way. I said to her, "Instead of whip- ping, I suggest that you give him a few moments of your time every morning. Approach him in a happy, communi- cative way, so as to awaken response. Little Lessons S7 Tell him how every one must conform to the wishes of others part of the time, and that he will be happier and get along better as he learns to do so. Magnify the virtue of conformative- ness. Mention the times he has done right and how glad it made you. Do not refer to the times he has done wrong, for this will create opposition. Say to him in substance, that to-day we are going to try to make each other happy, etc. Get him to acquiesce ; and during the day frequently refer to how nicely you are getting along together. If he err, forgive him, and tell him you will help him to do better. Notice every little sacrifice and encourage him in it. Avoid opposition. Appeal to his love, self-respect, and conscience. Grad- ually, but surely, you can increase these to where they will become dominant.'* The mother adopted this method, and in a few weeks a marked change was evident. At the age of ten the lad was as con formative as the average boy. This plan has been used with good re- sults in many similar cases. It has proved effective whenever a parent has been faithful and tactful. It is applica- ble, with proper variations, in over- coming any undesirable trait. 88 Child Culture Teachers and Governesses Great care should be exercised in the selection of teachers and governesses. Their authoritative position and inti- macy with the child make their influ- ence peculiarly potential in shaping the ideals and disposition of a child. No person should be employed for either of these positions whose life and mo- tives are not exemplary. Christian parents should not subject their chil- dren to the influence of teachers that are not Christians. Young people are prone to respect the opinions of college professors above those of their parents. Every year thousands of young Chris- tians are led astray in their thinking by the opinions of ethical but agnostic college men, whose lack of religious experience disqualifies them for safe leadership. It is a crime to place young children under the tutorage of moral delinquents. Vice and early indiscre- tions are frequently caused by the ignorance and perverseness of nurse- girls and servants. Parents cannot af- ford to intrust the early stages of char- acter-building to those that lack either the knowledge or the will to act wisely. It is highly significant that so many Little Lessons 89 great historic characters received their early training from wise private tutors or intelligent, devoted parents. Parental Duty The privilege of parenthood bears with it certain obligations that cannot honorably be neglected, or intrusted to others. Affection is the natural mo- tive for the fulfillment of these obliga- tions; but when this is wanting, duty demands it. The right of children to be well-born is self-evident; but through ignorance or some other cause many are denied this right. If a child is not well-born, the parents' responsi- bility in rearing it is all the greater. In early infancy there are often require- ments that only love will meet, and a nurse or foster mother should not be expected to fully take the place of parents. All through the growing years children need that sympathetic understanding that exists only between parents and offspring. A trained gov- erness may do better in some things than an untrained parent; but there is a heart quality that is seldom developed aright in a child without an affectionate association with Father and Mother. 90 Child Culture Liberal providing is good; wise in- struction can do much ; pure associates and wholesome environment are impor- tant; but all of these without parental affection and personal attention do not fulfill the whole law of duty. The Lost Boy Jean Paul says : "The education given by most fathers is but a system of rules to keep the child at a respectful distance from him, and to train it more in harmony with his comfort than the child's strength; or, at most, under a tornado of wrath, to impart as much instruction as he can scatter." Few men have either the tact or the time to keep in sympathetic touch with their boys from babyhood to maturity as a mother does with girls. This is unfor- tunate; there is something in every boy that demands the influence and sympathy of a mature man. Few boys develop aright without it. A father should be the chum of his son. The average boy feels that he can do what- ever Papa does. Therefore one of the essentials in directing a boy aright is to live an exemplary life before him, — with him. Seldom will a young man go Little Lessons 91 astray if he have the loving counsel and sympathetic companionship of a noble-hearted, temperate, honest, pure- minded father. The lost boy is usually the neglected boy, or the boy whose father set a bad example before him. A father that is not willing to give up his bad habits in order to set a good example before his children is unfit to be the head of a family. While care- lessly scaling a precipice, a father was startled by the call of his little boy, *'Choose a safe path. Papa ; I'm follow- ing you." Would that all fathers might hear and heed this call ! Young People's Problems Young people do not understand themselves, and often feel that they are not rightly interpreted by others. Few parents can apprehend or keep up with the kaleidoscopic changes that accom- pany and follow adolescence. Conse- quently they lose the close and sympa- thetic touch that existed before this period. Young people will discuss their problems confidentially with someone. But unless parents respond sympathet- ically, an outsider is likely to be made the confidant. If a parent is so unwise 92 Child Culture as to criticise ideals or question mo- tives, the opportunity of a lifetime may be lost. But, by suspending judgment and tactfully suggesting various views of the subject, and supplying such knowledge as may be needed, a right decision can usually be reached without opposition. In pursuing this course with hundreds of young people that have come to me with their problems, I have usually been able to get a frank statement of the whole matter, and to reverse, or at least modify, a wrong course. A good method is to prepare the way by the recital of personal or other people's experiences in like mat- ters, and thus teach without seeming to oppose. This accomplished, the next move is to suggest a number of ways out without expressing preference for any ; then, by weighing the possible ad- vantages of the several propositions, lead to a right conclusion. Young people, to develop aright, must be permitted to choose for them- selves, and thus learn to exercise the right of free moral agency. The change from parental authority to self- government is fraught with many dan- gers and difficulties; but it must be made, and usually the earlier the better. Little Lessons 93 Inexperience, immaturity of judgment, and lack of self-control may result in error; but it is better that one make minor mistakes than to be kept depend- ent upon the judgment and will of others. In this transitional period, a parent should assume the role of coun- selor rather than dictator. The surest way to induce right choice is not by argument and opposition, but by right instruction, and prefixing the character through the awakening of right affec- tions. The youth that is early trained in obedience and the sense of duty will not willfully pursue a wrong course; and if he has developed the spirit of independence and moral courage, he is not likely to be led astray by com- panions. A young lady's social problems are among the most difficult to adjust, partly because sentiment exceeds judg- ment; but correct early training, high ideals, and Divine grace protect from serious mistakes. Tactful suggestion that encourages discrimination and dis- cretion may accomplish much without interference with personal freedom ; but direct opposition or dictation usually proves separative. The discreet mother tactfully assists her daughter in the se- 94 Child Culture lection of friends, and prevents oppo- sition by creating in her mind such ideals as will prevent her from accept- ing undesirable company. Few parents give their children the right mental stimulus to awaken and train judgment and will-power. A boy cannot learn to drive while his father holds the lines; neither can he learn business except by doing it. Likewise, judgment, skill, and efficiency are gained only by experience. A wise father counsels with his growing boy as to the best way to do this and that, not for his instruction, but for the boy's training. A wise mother dis- cusses with her daughter various social and ethical questions to awaken thought and encourage right decisions. It is much easier to see the right or wrong of a given course in another than in one's self; but judgments formed by studying the problems of others assist in solving one's own problems. Raw recruits are trained by a few months of military drill to obey commands and courageously face death. Without training this would be impossible under fire. Likewise, young people trained to exercise judgment, control the emo- tions, and obey the dictates of con- Little Lessons 95 science are prepared to meet the vicis- situdes of life : to decide and act aright under circumstances that might other- wise prove disastrous. VI SPECIAL DIRECTIONS Introduction Standing before us is a ragged, bare- footed, freckle-faced, blue-eyed boy. Who can tell what latent forces, what slumbering passions, what genius or native goodness lie hidden in that head and heart ? There may be the elements of the criminal, the orator, the phil- osopher, the statesman, or the philan- thropist. We know his inherent ten- dencies are subject to modification, sus- ceptible to influence and capable of end- less improvement; therefore let us do all we can to direct his energies, de- velop his genius, and make him a manly man. Let us remember that the boy of today is the citizen of tomorrow, whose private character and public de- meanor will affect the social, commer- cial, intellectual, and moral status of a commonwealth. 96 Special Directions 97 Food and Growth The right feeding of children is a difficult and important problem. Be- cause of a wrong dietary system, and the readiness with which the appetite of a child is perverted, it is little short of crime to allow children to select their own foods and eat whatever and whenever they choose. Instinct in our race is so perverted that the average child, if unprotected, soon comes to de- mand an excess of sweets, pastries, con- diments, etc., which disturb the func- tions of the body. Perfect digestion and assimilation require that food be taken into the mouth in small quantities and thoroughly masticated. The fre- quent desire to eat something between meals is more often caused by fermen- tation and consequent irritation in the stomach than by actual need of nour- ishment. The wise parent selects sim- ple foods, and never permits the use of confections, or eating at irregular periods. Overeating, the use of un- wholesome food, and the habitual in- dulgence of the palate, are the chief causes of infant mortality, arrested growth, and the diseases peculiar to childhood. Thousands suffer through 98 Child Culture life from nervousness, limited vitality, and other forms of ill-health, because of wrong dietary habits in childhood. Food and Character A great scientist has said, *'Let me feed the criminal classes of any country for a hundred years and I will banish crime." Excessive flesh eating pro- motes animality. Herbivorous birds and beasts, if fed on meats, become cruel. Carnivorous birds and animals restricted to a fleshless diet for a few generations lose their savage proclivi- ties. This law applies in a general way to man, but is more potential in the child. Children inclined to be vicious or cruel should not be given meat. Those deficient in spirit, energy, and courage may use it once a day with good results. The appetite for strong drink is often produced by the use of condiments, tea, coffee, and tobacco, which create a demand for stronger stimulants. Thousands have gone the way of intemperance, vice, and crime, impelled by appetites perverted by un- wholesome food prepared by Mother's hand. special Directions 99 Medicine and Children It is unwise to give medicine to babies except under the direction of a physician. The doctor seldom drugs his own children. Experience has taught him that practical hygiene and prevention are better than medicine. Others should follow his example. The immoderate and indiscriminate use of mineral poisons and patent medicines has slain thousands and robbed tens of thousands of health and vitality for life. Mortality is greatest among chil- dren that are frequently dosed. Sooth- ing syrups alleviate pain by making the nerves temporarily insensible, but sel- dom cure. To ''kill pain" without re- moving its cause is always dangerous. There is an excellent suggestion in a boy's essay on *'Pins." which concluded with the statement. 'Tins have saved lots of people's lives by their not swal- lowing them." The same may be said of mineral poisons and many patent medicines. Physical Reactions All subnormal and defective children should receive the attention of a com- 100 Child Culture petent physician. No congenital defect nor long-standing, abnormal or patho- logical condition is without psycholog- ical effects. Backward children are usually so from some purely physical cause. Incorrect breathing inhibits brain-functioning. Adenoids arrest mental growth. Imperfect vision causes headache and inability to study. Im- paired digestion means malnutrition, anaemia, and neurasthenia, with all their attendant evils. A careful exam- ination of the dull, the queer, the hyper-sensitive, the subnormal, the peevish, the vulgar, and the vicious usually reveals a pathological cause. All physical functions and mental func- tions are related to connecting brain- centers, through which the conditions and activities of one modify the other. These effects may not always be dis- cernible, but they exist. No bodily re- actions are more common than those that affect the emotional and volitional centers. Therefore, because a child with a defective body excels in its studies is no evidence that its physical abnormality has no psychological reac- tion. Physical culture and right bodily development are not only necessary for health, strength, and prolonged vigor, special Directions 101 but are essential to normal growth of mind and morals.* Physical Hygiene Every child should be trained in cleanliness and the formation of right bodily habits. Erect posture and deep breathing should be insisted upon ; also regular hours for sleep, study, play, and work. Children should be trained to be temperate in all things beneficial, and to totally abstain from whatever is harm- ful. All should receive definite teach- ing concerning the physical, mental, and moral effects of stimulants and narcotics. t Boys especially should be prefixed by right teaching, suggestion, and Christian influence, against preva- lent vices. A boy should be so set against the use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks before he is ten years old that no temptation nor external influence can induce him to change. The main thing needed to protect children from the bad * See paragraph on "Influence of Mind Over Body and Body Over Mind," in the Author's lecture on "Man, Mind, Divine Healing," published in his book. "Method." t For a concise statement of the effects of tobacco and cigarettes on boys and youths, see the Author's book, "The New Man." 102 Child Culture influence of others is the sense of inde- pendence, and the will to do as well as they know. It is the '"gang-pull" that leads the average youth astray. It takes a strong, independent character to stand out against the practices of friends and companions; but the boy that can and will do so gains in power and popularity. His strength and free- dom command respect even from those that lack the disposition or the moral courage to follow his example. There- fore, by teaching independence of thought and conduct, and impressing a boy with the sense of his moral worth and personal responsibility, he is pre- pared to resist temptation. Moral Hygiene The chief end of all true culture is soul development. This requires the subjection of the appetites and propen- sities to the higher sentiments. Many that never use stimulants or narcotics are intemperate in eating, or in the ex- pression of their passions, emotions, thoughts, or sentiments. Anger, jeal- ousy, hatred, greed, fear, dishonesty, pride, and all other abnormal psychic activities, not only inhibit development Special Directions 103 of the higher nature, but produce tox- ine poisons that cause disease; while happy, hopeful, trustful emotions pro- mote physical health, intellectual growth, and moral development. Chil- dren should be taught to put away ab- normal emotions by Divine grace. Too much emphasis cannot be placed on this proposition. Willful, habitual yielding to temper, jealousy, despondency, and other forms of selfishness is a preva- lent cause of neurosis, dyspepsia, early decline, and premature death. Every discordant vibration is injurious to spirit, soul, and body. Energy and Activity Some children are naturally ener- getic and intensely active. Such must be given something to do or they will get into mischief. Their play and work should be so diversified as to fully oc- cupy their time, yet prevent them from overdoing. Others are constitutionally deficient in energy. Such should be given easy tasks, and encouraged with the assurance that they can do them. As energy increases, tasks may be made more difficult. Such children are im- proved by working with others. They 104 Child Culture should take part in out-of-door sports that require physical exertion and in- crease energy. All girls and boys should be taught to employ every con- scious moment. Idleness restricts de- velopment. It begets vice. An idle life is an unhappy life. An inactive mind is always susceptible to evil impressions. Hard work gives strength of body, hard study strength of mind. The boy that does not learn to work rarely suc- ceeds. Idle girls seldom become good women. Frugal Habits Children should be taught to earn and save money. They should be en- couraged to start a bank account as early as the age of five, and thus form habits of self-restraint by saving their pennies. The child of wealth needs to learn economy quite as much as the child of poverty. Extravagance begets vice, fosters pride, and degrades char- acter. Some are naturally acquisitive and only need to be guided aright. Others are deficient in the ability to make and to save. Such should be given an opportunity to earn money, and be required to provide themselves with a given article of clothing, such as special Directions 105 stockings, gloves, etc. By this means they will learn to save, and to care for the things they have bought. This early inculcation of the providing and care-taking spirit will prove of great value in later years. Self-Respect Self-respect strengthens character and enables one to command the respect of others. It is a constant check against doing anything unworthy. When this quality is deficient, it may be strength- ened by encouraging a child to take pains ; to do well whatever it does ; to complete everything undertaken in an orderly way; and then complimenting it for its achievements. The conscious- ness of intelligence, efficiency, right- eousness, and courage gives true self- appreciation. Never should a child be called stupid, lazy, mean, or anything calculated to lessen its self-reliance. Sensitiveness Many children are super-sensitive by nature. They are easily wounded by a word, and are too responsive to praise and blame. Such should neither be 106 Child Culture praised nor blamed, but influenced through other elements until the super- sensitiveness is outgrown. This undue desire for the approval of others fre- quently combines v^ith a personal pride to that degree that expediency takes the place of conscience, and the ruling motive is not what is right or best but what others will say. If not corrected, this tendency results in vanity and artificiality. Self -Protection Self -protection is the first law of na- ture. The surest way to protect one's self against temptation is to be pro- nounced on the side of right, to mani- fest virtue, and seek it in others. Hu- man nature is weak, and needs the sustaining power of Divine grace. It is a sin to tempt others or put one's self under temptation. The child should be taught to obey the laws of propriety; to be discreet, and to keep its own coun- sel. It should know that a prayerful spirit protects; that the expression of aggressive goodness and positive virtue tends to produce these in others and destroy their opposites. Special Directions 107 Forethought Forethought and carefulness are not hereditary but acquired traits. Some children learn to be careful and thoughtful more readily than others, but all require training in these quali- ties. A good plan is to point out to a child, after it has made a mistake, how it might have avoided the error had it noticed or duly considered. By fre- quently speaking of those times when a child has exercised forethought, the habit will be encouraged. Thought ful- ness in planning, in nicely folding its clothing, in picking up its toys, in keep- ing everything in order, should be so instilled as to become habitual. Chil- dren trained to think before they speak or act are saved from many mistakes. Self-Sufficiency Many seem incapable of entertaining themselves. They must have some ex- ternal stimulus — playmates, friends, or amusements. Left alone, they are wretched. This condition often leads to questionable associates, entertain- ments, etc. Every child lacking in self- sufficiency should be required to play, read, and study alone a part of the 108 Child Culture time. Later it should be encouraged to meditate, and learn in the school of solitude the secret of peace and content- ment, i. c, that the ''Kingdom of Heaven" is within. When this has be- come the habitual state of conscious- ness, external conditions are of sec- ondary importance. Expression All children should be trained in the art of correct speech, and clear, con- cise expression. Definite wording re- quires, and thereby promotes, definite thinking. Idle chatter should be for- bidden; but thoughtful conversation, the recital of instances and impressions, and the free expressions of plans, wishes, emotions, and sentiments should be commended. When a child has attended church or an entertain- ment, or has witnessed any unusual oc- currence, it should be encouraged to tell its impressions. It should first be permitted to tell the story in its own way without interruption. Then the matter should be reviewed, and correc- tions and improvements suggested. In this way a child will be trained in per- ception, memory, and the power of expression. Special Directions 109 Imagination Imagination, or creative fancy, is the highest power of the human mind. It should be cultivated in most children. In some, however, it is so strong as to cause them to exaggerate. This ten- dency can usually be overcome by call- ing a child's attention to its misstate- ments in the presence of the facts. Many children exaggerate through a desire to excite approval or surprise in others. Such should be taught that the exact truth is always more interesting than an enlarged account. There is a wide difference between this tendency to magnify the truth and that decep- tion that arises from selfishness or a weak conscience. The latter can be eradicated only by persistent moral training; the former is usually out- grown through humiliating experi- ences. The Affections Law may rule in courts of justice, but love reigns in human hearts. All of the emotions should receive system- atic training from babyhood. Every emotion should be subject to judgment and conscience. It is natural for boys and girls to have sweethearts. But 110 Child Culture they should know that these attach- ments spring from blind impulses that must be educated and controlled. Be- fore the period of adolescence they should be taught the privileges and re- straints of friendships with the oppo- site sex. Boys should be taught to re- spect all girls and protect them as they would their sisters. Girls should be taught to shield their boy friends from improprieties. They should know that straightforward, aggressive goodness prevents misunderstandings. As a rule it is better for boys and girls to grow up together, but they should be discouraged from continuing the ex- clusive company of one. It is easier to direct the emotions of those that have the companionship of the oppo- site sex than of those that do not. The girl that has never been allowed to as- sociate with boys until adolescence is prone to fall in love with the first young man she becomes acquainted with. Boys denied the refining influence of girls are likely to be uncouth or immoral. Good Manners True politeness is true kindness deli- cately expressed. A courteous, agree- special Directions 111 able manner means much in the strug- gles of life. A gruff, rude, or boorish exterior closes the door of opportunity for many truly good men. The lady that is gracious and kind to all becomes a favorite. ''Company manners" are usually insincere and fail at a critical moment. The artificiality and affecta- tion of much that passes for etiquette is not worth embodying in the mind of a child. But politeness that comes from a true appreciation of the fitness of things, a right regard for the happiness of others, and a due self-respect, fills an important place in character build- ing. Good breeding is distinctively a product of the home; it is not an occa- sional effort or company drill, but a thing of daily practice, prompted by honest motives and a frank expression of the inner life. The well-bred child goes out into the world safeguarded by self-respect and a clear concept of proprieties. The Sense of Honor **An honest man is the noblest work of God." The paramount need of hu- manity is moral conviction. The sense of honor should be cultivated in all 112 Child Culture children. To do this, parents should be strictly honest with them. The com- mon custom of deceiving children, and practicing little deceptions in their presence, educates them in dishonesty. A child should be placed on its honor and encouraged to be faithful and straightforward in all ways. If it is untruthful and afterward confesses, it should not be scolded or punished, lest it be driven to further deception in self- protection. The better way is to for- give the present error, thank the child for its frankness, and give such sugges- tions as will prevent a repetition. Kindness and Forgiveness A kind, forgiving spirit is one of the richest gifts from God to man. The child has a natural capacity for receiv- ing and expressing this spirit. This capacity should be increased, and its expression encouraged by simple stories of the birds of the forest, the little ani- mals of the fields and woods, and of the kind ways, words and deeds of good children. When a child has been wronged, it should be taught to for- give, to return good for evil ; not sim- ply because duty demands it, but be- special Directions 113 cause this is the way to grow into that largeness of h'fe that brings peace and happiness. The little one that is al- lowed to be unkind to pets or play- mates, or to harbor the spirit of re- venge, becomes selfish and severe. Love's Way to Victory The time has come to conclude these heart talks, and love pleads for the last word. That Jesus Christ may be glorified, permit me, dear Reader, to urge you to see the young child as a dweller in the Eden of innocence, des- tined by heredity to pursue the ways of desire into sin, except it be born anew and come to live by Divine grace. See, also, that the way of attainment is by awakening right affections through right teaching. From right affections come right volitional impulses. Seek- ing truth for truth's sake leads life in love's highways, and produces impres- sions on mind and heart that bring the soul into harmony with the Divine will. Thus you tell a child the facts about a flower; how the little seed w^aited in the cold ground until the spring-time; how the warmth of the sun kissed it and the life came forth; how it grew 114 Child Culture day by day, gathering nourishment from the earth, inbreathing carbon from the air until, through patience and obedience, it blossomed in beauty and filled the air with fragrance. This simple story of truth will awaken love for the flower, and bring the child into a tender, considerate attitude toward it. By this process right impulses may be produced toward all things, laws, cus- toms, commandments, institutions, and persons. This is the whole secret of righteous growth. This is the grace method of creating the motives and determining the conduct of a noble Christian character. APPENDIX Personal Purity "My people perish for lack of knowl- edge." Ignorance will not perpetuate in- nocence. True virtue is born of intelli- gence and positive goodness. It is crime to allow children to enter the adolescent period without proper sex instruction; but knowledge alone is insufficient. Chastity is of the heart. A bitter fountain cannot give forth sweet water. A pure regenerate heart gives rise to pure desires and chaste affections, but an unregenerate heart will send forth impure impulses, which are sure to find expression in thought and conduct. Therefore a cleansed, Spirit-filled heart is the only effective safe-guard. The discussion of vice propagates it. Lewd suggestions give rise to abnormal desires. Experience proves that the more children think and talk about sex problems, the more likely they are to become per- verted. Vice may be learned from others, but it frequently results from abnormal physical conditions or hereditary tenden- cies. Inchastity is promoted by unclean- liness, and by the use of stimulants, condi- ments and too much meat or sweets. Little chlidren should be taught that they are never alone; that the great loving Father sees and knows every act and thought; that it is wrong and wicked to purposely think, desire, or do anything they would be ashnmed tn tell Tapa and Mamma. Each child should early receive plain, clear teach- 115 116 Child Culture ing about the beginning of living organisms as a part of simple nature studies. Later they should receive private, confidential in- struction regarding sex hygiene, approach- ing adolescence, and the relation of the creative principle to growth and vigor of body and mind. This instruction should be adapted to the individual child's disposition and needs. What is proper and necessary for one may be out of place or harmful to another. Some authors advise waiting until a child asks questions on these subjects before giv- ing information. Experience proves this plan to be dangerous.* Many children are too sensitive to ask their parents, and re- ceive from companions a morbid impression of the whole subject. Few will ask until the awakening of the sex instinct, when it is often too late to protect them from first mistakes. Every child should be trained to hate inchastity, and to delight in per- sonal purity, positive virtue and a clean life. * It is easy to show a child of four how the seeds of baby flowers are formed. Then to ex- plain how all livinj; things grow from seeds; how the esrscs from which birds and animals grow are but another form of seeds. And from this to ex- Elaln where birdies, bunnies and babies come from ; ow bird's eggs hatch in a nest, but that bunnies and babies have their nests inside the Mamma's body until old enough to live outside. Some of the better books on this sublect are : "The Spark of Life," by Margaret W. Morlev ; "Four Epochs of Life." by Dr. Elizabeth Hamilton Muncie ; "How Shall I Tell My Child," by Mrs. Wood- Allen Chanman ; "Life's Beginnings." and other books by Dr. Winfleld Scott Hall. The author's book, "The New Man." contains spiritual teaching relative to sex. of vital importance, published in no other work. Any of these books may be or- dered from the Riddell Publishers, 7522 Garrison Ave., Chicago, 111. Published Lectures and Books By NEWTON N. RIDDELL Method — The Eiddell Lectures — Complete text of nine lectures on Applied Psy- chology and Vital Christianity. 320 pages, cloth, postpaid, $1.50. The Psychology of Success — Discourses on a Winning Personality, Character Building, Aids to Success and Human Nature Studies. 320 pages, cloth, postpaid, $1.50. Heredity and Prenatal Culture — A non-tech- nical work on Eace Improvement, Mar- riage and Parentage, Many Valuable Facts and Figures. 360 pages, cloth, postpaid, $2.00. Child Culture by Suggestion — A hand-book for parents and teachers, giving methods of Eliminating Faults, Embodying Vir- tues, and Developing a Child into a Strong Moral Character. 130 pages, cloth, postpaid, 65c. The New Man — The Secret of Power, Ways of Attainment, and Twentieth Century Problems. 125 pages, cloth, postpaid, 50c, paper 25c. Service and Bible Study — A New Plan of Personal Evangelism Through the Spirit and the Word. 126 pages, cloth, post- paid, 50c, paper 25c. THE RIDDELL PUBLISHERS Mailing Department, 7522 Garrison Ave., Chicago, HI. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS AND Human Nature Studies This book opens with Mr. Riddell's most helpful lecture, "The Psychology of Success." It is pre-eminently practical. It tells how to acquire the elements of success and develop a strong, positive, winning personality. It gives one hundred practical suggestions on the Choice of Pursuits, Business Methods, Salesmanship and Advertising, Personal Aids to Success, and the Problems of the Professional Man It contains a series of interesting Human Nature Studies, dealing with the Origin and Nature of Man, Old and New Psy- chology, Tempermental and Constitu- tional Differences, the Factors of Mind and the Processes of Mentation. This book is of priceless value to all who would understand human nature or make the most of life and its opportunities. 320 Pases. Cloth. Price, Postpaid, 91.50. RIDDELL PUBLISHING CO. 7522 Lakeside Terrace CHICAGO, ILL, HEREDITY The Cream of Twenty Chautauqua Lec- tures on Heredity, Prenatal Culture, Psychology, Brain Building and Soul Growth. Bj NETVTONN. BIDDELI Thla Work Is Not Only Attthentlo but Rleh In Original Matter. Mr. RIddell Is a recognized authority on Heredity. In gathering the subject matter for this book and his lectures he has con- sulted ever.y meiiion u v/oi.v un the subject published In the English language. He trav- eled constantly for fifteen years, visiting nearly all of the principal cities on the continent, consulting with hundreds of edu- cators, prison wardens, physicians and de- tectives. He personally examined the psy- chology and heredity of several thousand persons, including nearly ten thousand chil- dren, representing all classes and conditions, over five thousand convicts, and as many more Insane and feeble-minded patients. Heredity CxplaJrxed. Mr. RIddell reduces all the laws, facts and phenomena of reproduction and heredity to a definite science and explains them In language so simple that a child can com- prehenr" them. TKe Book Is Well Made. It contains 350 large octavo pages, 6x9, weight 2 lbs. It is printed from new type on heavy rag paper of good quality. It la substantially bound In silk finished cloth, with gold stamp on side and back. Over 1200 Marginal References. Every one of its 1.1G4 paragraphs contalnn ft concise statement of a fact. law or prrpM eltlon and la supplied with one ur mc-e I'-jtmI Bide heads. The work is fully indexed. Making it the most complete book ever pub- lished on the lubjecta treated. Price by Mall or Ezprecs, Po«tpaId, $2.00. RIDDELL PUBLISHING CO. 7522 Lakeside Terrace CHICAGO, ILU Comments of the Press. "A profoundly Interesting and instructive book, treating of subjects clearly and mod- estly. * ♦ ♦ If millions, instead of thou- sands, could take in its lessons the world would be benefited." — The Inter-Ocean» "It is evident from a perusal of this volume that the author is a close student of nature. The practical truths contained In his book make it a valuable addition to any library."— New England Journal of Education. "Parents and hose who may become parents, will find much in this book which will command their attention." — The Congregationalist. "It is written with great discretion and much tact and presents the subject in an interesting and instructive way. — New Orleans Daily Picayune. "The book is reliable, up-to-date and easy of comprehension." — Union Signal. "It has evidently been prepared with much carefulness of observation and of statement, Infinite misery might be prevented if the facts given were commonly understood and duly needed." — Chicago Tribune. "The author's ideas are presented in a clear and logical manner, with an earnestness which should carry with it the lessons the work is intended to convey." — Toledo Blade. "The author's conclusions are drawn from a wide range of facts coming under his own observations, both of well bom and ill born children." — The Outlook. "It is a work in which any student of human nature, pastor, educator or professional man will find unlimited source of desired informa- tion." — Denver Republican. "He is considered the foremost authority in the country on Heredity, Psychology and kindred topics. His work abounds in first hand facts and original matter." — Omaha World- Herald. "It is a work of mature thought and cultured style." — Medical Science. "It should be read by every man and woman In America. Its style is clear, untechnical and entertaining as it is instructive. The book is a model of the printer's art." — Human Natxire. METHOD THE RIDDELL LECTURES Complete text of the following lectures as g:iven at Chautauqua Assemblies and under the auspices of Ministerial Associations: No. 1. Brain Building and Soul Growth. No. 2. Man, Mind, and Divine Healing. No. 3. Psychic and Spiritual Phenomena. No. 4. Science and Religion. No. 5. Man's Fall, Christ's Atonement. No. 6. How Man May Become In-Christed. No. 7. Law, Prayer, Faith, Miracles. No. 8. Service, the Christian Clinic. No. 9. Christ and Civic Problems. No. 10. The Letter and the Spirit. INNER TEACHING These Lectures Contain Teaching by the Holy Spirit on Regeneration, Vicarious Atone- ment, the Blood of Jesus Christ; the Genera- tion of Life in the Kingdom of God ; the Law of Special Providences; Grace, Faith, and other Christian Mysteries of Vital Importance to Truth Seekers, Christians and Christianity. Pacific Christian Advocate: It is a rare man who can take such profound questions as those discussed by Mr. Riddell and make them so entrancingly interesting that a child can un- derstand and appreciate them. He clears up difficulties, he illumines the dark places, and brings the soul consciously in communion with God. We commend him to our people every- where. 320 Pages, Cloth. $1.50, PostpiucL The New Man OR Kni^ntsofttie Twentieth Century Bx Newton N. BlddeU A Twenty-Five Cent Book of One Hundred FagM that has Transformed the Lives of Ten Thousand Men and Put Half a Millioa to Thinking. One Hundred TKousand Men Have attended Mr. Riddell's lecture on "The New Man.*' of which this book Is an en- larged version. It Is uniformly conceded to be the most refined, instructive and Inspir- ing lecture on the subject of man's creative forces before the public. No man can listen to or read it without being materially bene- fited. It was published at the request of thousands of professional men and is being circulated for the good It may do. EVERY BRAIN WORKER IN AMERICA SHOULD HEAR IT.—Judge John Maxwell. It moved Grand Rapids as no other lec- ture ever has. — J. K. Johnson. I Words are Inadequate to express the moral and spiritual value of this lecture. — W. B. Edmonds, Oen. Sec. Y. M. G A., Jackaonvillet III. I never listened to such a story from hu- man lips. If Andrew Carnegie should en- dow this lecture with $100,000. and send Prof. Riddell forth, the inspired prophet to the masses, he would do more good than by building twenty libraries.— iJev. Oh