HOME TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14714, 23 June 1911, Page 4

HOME TOPICS.

FORMING A CHILD'S CHARACTER

If the child is born self-willed and rebellious, tact and patience, and alxive all firmness, are the virtues which the parents will stand most in need of. The child has got to find out that you arc stronger than lie and that he has to bow to your will and that the better the grace with which ho does it ho more comfortable things will be for him.

The future outlook for the child who, when told to do something, refuses, flies into a temper, cries and altogether makes himself thoroughly objectionable, is not of the rosiest. Now is the time for you to nxert your authority and to stick to it: it' you give way but half an inch the child vill see through you at once, lie will lose bis respect for you and for your word, and will never get it back. Wait until the tit of temper is over, then Explain fondly the foolishness ami the useIwsness of it. A great deal of discrimination should be ixercised in this matter of punishment. The first thing to discover is whether the offence was tho outcome of wilful disobedience or of ill health ; a child will do many things when unwell or delicate that it would net do if it were quite well, and though the offence must not be passed over the punishment should be light. Tho child, when soothed, should be spoken to kindly and told that though he is not well that is no excuse for his naughtiness. Delicate children should, of course, bo always particularly gently treated, but the parents must bear in mind that poor health is no justification for over-indulgence. It is a great, temptation to give an ailing child everything more or less for which he asks, to overlook his faults, and to make excuses for him on every possible occasion. But it is a temptation which we should strive against, for it is a sure way of ruining the child's character and of making a peevish and uncontrolled man of him, not only on those probably frequent occasions when his will is coerced, but at all times.

Tench your sons to wait, upon their sisters, instilling into thorn from the earliest days that most winning of man s qualities—chivalry. Do not trample upon the imaginative tendencies of your children as so many parents do. thinking that they are unnatural. If you but look round with observing eyes at the hundreds of men and women who are utterly commonplace, prosaic, and uninteresting, you will take good care that you do not add to their number and you will do all you can to foster and encourage tho imaginative minds of your children. Some of the purest happiness in the world is that one obtains through a vivid, far-reaching imagination. Let your children believe in the fairies and in Santa Glaus and other charming make-believes, let them read Tlans Andersen and the well-beloved Grimm, teach them to love flowers and birds, brine them up as near to nature as it is possible. Do not begin to educate them too. early ; letters and figures are a very unimportant part of the early upbringing. What you have got to do is to turn the children into strong, healthy men and women, and this cannot be done if they are shut up in tho house, confusing their poor little brains with tiresome lessons that, when weighed against the glorious gift of health, go so entirely to the wall. Bather let them live out of the doors from the time they get lip until bed time, and let their first lessons be those wondrous ones to be found in the growing things of the earth. fcever try to extract obedience from children by coaxing or bribery, for it win make thim cunning and deceitful; they must learn that they have to do what they are told because the person who tells them is older and wiser than they. Parents should, therefore, be careful not to give unwise commands or tyrannical ones, and they must never allow the children to argue about a given order. The word lias been spoken and the word must be obeyed. Teach as early as possible the lesson of generosity. Be sure not to overwhelm children with praise when they do the right things in this way, because after all they are doing only what all wellbred, right-minded human beings do as a matter of course.

HOUSEWORK REDUCES FLESH. One of the best ways to get rid of superfluous flesh is to discharge the cook. Housework is one of he best ways to reduce the flesh. Early rising in the morning is a benefit. Working in the garden or the yard is an aid. Nine-tenths of the people with money are willing to expend huge sums with the sole idea of getting thin without working or dieting to do so.

Almost all people have formed the habit of overeating. Many of those who live in hotels, at clubs and in rich homes make the physicians rich, fill the hospitals and practically eat themselves into a bad condition. No one has yet invented a substitute for water, and it is hardly possible that anyone will invent a substitute for work. There is no way that a woman can eat more than she ought and not get fat. Dieting and exercise are the best remedies for superfluous flesh. These can be relied upon at all times, and the treatment. is not in the least dangerous. There are two fundamental facts about reducing or keeping off flesh. One of these is that a woman must not cat except at the regular hours. A very light breakfast, or no breakfast, is a big help. There should be no drinking at meals, not even water. This is the seen rid : There must ' be some kind of work, fresh air, and plenty of it. If there is a wish to take flesh off any particular place the mind should be concentrated on that place, as it, has a great effect upon ileah. Walking in the fresh air and the sunlight is a good remedy. When they are thoroughly understood and taken properly, calisthenics are good. But the mind must ho upon them all the time they are being taken. Every motion should be fought: That is, even when the hands 1 are lifted they should be raised as though , here were a 101b weight in each of them. . All the muscles should be set in much tho same way as though thev were lifting a great weight, in lead. Ten-minute calisthenics each morning will accomplish won- ' ders. One of tho best exercises for the figure is swimming. It makes one graceful, soft, and rounded. Holt' is also good. The wind and sun cut the fat like a knife, and tennis is excellent. But nothing can •heat, square heel-arid walking from 'three, to five miles each day at a good gait, especially over rough ground. REMEDY FOR DAMP WALLS. If a wall is suspected of dampness, a piece of gelatine held close to it will- tell ;the story at once. If the wall is dry tho j gelatine will not change; if damp, Iho ; gelatine will turn or curl more or less, ac- ■ cording to the degree of dampness. If the wall is very damp, it will need no testing. One good remedy for a wall not very damp is a mixture, of lib of good glue dissolved in one gallon of water, into which, while hot, has been stirred some dry red lead until the. mass is of the consistency of ordinary paint. The surest and best remedy is the Sylvester process, as follows: —Cut up 31b of Castile soap in one gallon of water, and dissolve; now dissolve -jib of puverised alum in four gallons of water. With a. brush for each solution, using a wide brush, apply a coating of the soap solution, rubbing it. well into the wall ; let it dry until next day, then apply a coat of alum water let this dry until ,next day then repeat with the alum and soap, as before. Thus the wall will receive two coats of floap and two of alum, which will form a chemical compound impervious to water. •Very da hip walls treated with this simple coating will give, no trouble under paper for years.