TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 717 



musn't order it to drop it quick." No, the true parent will have 

 shown the child the danger of handling sharp knives before it is pos- 

 sible for the child to pick up one. Then when it does take the knife, 

 the parent will watch it closely, but rather permit it to cut itself than 

 to interfere with a command. The cut will not hurt the child half so 

 much as the sharp command hurts its little mind. This is also a funda- 

 mental principle, namely, to permit the child to learn, wherever pos- 

 sible, by experience, provided the lesson comes naturally and the child 

 has first been taught. The instances possible, where this principle 

 can be applied, are so numerous that a volume could easily be written 

 on this subject of teaching obedience by natural means alone. The 

 normal child will always obey a law it really knows. Therefore teach 

 it, both by precept and example, every law that you expect it to obey. 

 You have no right whatever to make it obey merely your will. The 

 child is not a slave. Try the new way and you will never return to the 

 old. 



Teaching Children to be Truthful. All normal children are 

 by nature truthful. Most parents teach their children, wholly unin- 

 tentionally, and entirely unconscious of the fact, yet really do teach 

 their children to be untruthful. Hence the matter might" be stated, 

 how not to teach a child to be untruthful. 



Usually one of the first lessons in falsehood which parents teach 

 their children is to say to them in a moment of irritibility: " No\v, 

 don't do that again or I'll whip you." Five minutes later the child 

 does it again, but no whipping follows. We have personally seen in 

 some good families, where we had the chance to watch mother and 

 child (two year old) and keep tab on results, instances where fifteen to 

 twenty falsehoods of this and similar nature were told the child in 

 one hour. Is it any wonder that such a child becomes a liar f The 

 wonder is that he remains as truthful as he is. 



How natural it is for a mother to say, when her child asks where 

 the baby came from, " he came from the sky," or, " the doctor brought 

 him in a basket," etc. Why not tell the child the truth instead of per- 

 mitting him to learn afterwards that mother or father told him a fib. 

 Or, if so very young that he could not comprehend it (which we doubt 

 very much) why not say: " I do not wish to tell you now, my child, but 

 some other time I will tell you all about it it is very wonderful." 

 Again when you have thus, or in any other way, given your word to 

 your child keep it as sacredly as the most sacred obligation of your 

 life. To punish a child for being untruthful is only to tempt him to 

 become more untruthful in order to avoid being found out. This is a 

 case wherein example is almost everything. The only punishment we 

 have ever known to be effective was the giving to lha child some object 

 lesson or lessons demonstrating that untruthfulness does not pay. 

 When the child comprehends this fact it will check its habit of false 

 statement. Nothing else will do it permanently. 



How to Make a Child Honest. Every child is honest unless 

 he is taught dishonesty. Some children are taught dishonesty before 



