RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31248, 21 December 1966, Page 34

RANDOM REMINDER

THOUGHTFULNESS

Children are astonishing creatures. They bring despair and delight, frustration and rich reward, pride and embarrassment; not all at once but often, it seems, at dizzy speed. Unfortunately, there Is sometimes a tendency among parents—perhaps through their own shortcomings—to under-evaluate the activities and thought processes of their offspring. It is not a deliberate vote of no-confidence, but it does occur. Take the case of the Christchurch woman who recently celebrated a birthday. To make the occasion memorable, her husband

prepared a meal which combined perfectly the romance of the continent with the essentially practical Kiwi cuisine. It was a highly successful party. But when it was done, he had to leave for work—he is one of those unfortunate who hammer out a living while most of the world is asleep. His departure was delayed, unexpectedly, by his 12-year-old daughter bursting into tears. She explained that there should have been a birthday cake for her mother, and that she had asked the lady next door to bake one. This caused a minor crisis. There was a feeling among the parents that perhaps

their child should not have bothered their neighbour with such a matter. There was nothing for it but for father to take daughter by the hand and visit next door. The brief conversation was a revelation. The cake had been baked and was ready. And the woman who had made it said how thrilled and moved she had been that a little girl should think so highly of her mother that she should, of her own initiative, have gone ahead and made the Arrangement This put the whole thing in an entirely different light. It was easy for the parents, then, to agree with the woman next door. And ao 4o