You and Your Child

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 18 January 1939, Page 2

You and Your Child

Fussy Mother Cramps Child's Personality

(BY JANE HERBERT GOWARD) Mother, examining Tommy with disgust when he entered the house, exclaimed, “How did you get so dirty? Look at your hands and knees. Your face is smudged.” Coming closer, she exclaimed, “Why there’s sand in your hair!” She eye him suspiciously. “Have you been throwing sand again, and after the way you were punished for it last time? I don’t understand you. I don’t understand you. I don’t know what to do with you.” The boy trembled and gulped hard. What mother said was true and he felt he would be punished. Returning from play he was by far the most disreputable looking child in the neighbourhood, although his mother probably tried harder to keep him clean and neat than most parents. Every evening there was a scene. And always upon leaving the house, no matter what the time of day, he had to promise to stay clean.

It is not easy to keep clean when one is always worried about getting dirty. This was Tommy’s predicament, although he, of course, did not know it. He was aware only of being more unlucky than other boys where accidents were concerned. If he watched two rival gangs throwing mud, he was sure to get in the line of fire no matter how hard he tried to keep out of the way. From constantly being warned and threatened, washed and changed. Tommy was always afraid of getting dirty and this cramped his style. A child should be dressed suitably for play in knock-about clothes that are easy to launder. Then one does not have to nag perpetually. Play is a child’s life. If it is free from worry, he has a better chance of learning physical and moral courage, agility and manual skills.