THE PROBLEM OF YOUTH

NZ Truth, Issue 1286, 31 July 1930, Page 15

THE PROBLEM OF YOUTH

Are Parents Shirking Very Vital Responsibilities ?

(By Mrs. T. Simpson, representative of the Baptist Church on the N.Z. Society tor the Protection of Women and Children, Auckland, m a special interview with "N.Z. Truth.") One hears so much of the sins of modern youth these days. Modern parents call their modern children problems, and they let it go at that. How often does one hear the solution of the problem beingdiscussed?

WE must not hold up holy hands m horror; we have to go further back, and look to the home life. There are two classes of home life that are dreadful failures. The first is where the mother is a slave and a drudge, and the girls just leave everything to her. While the work is left to their mothers, those girls go ahead and do as they like. ITie home more often met- with is that m which mothers do not give enough attention to their children. The mothers of these homes live a kind of butterfly life, forgetting that the young people, too, must have life. Denied other young company m their homes, these young girls and these young boys find their own element outside their homes. There is nothing to them to their family circle, but there are attractions elsewhere. And that is how many modern girls and boys first meet with those so-called smart folk who indulge m smoking and "spotting." There is no harm m it, they think, and because they are not directed by older heads, they run loose. Those poor, misguided little modern girls desire to create the impression that they are free; that they are the masters of their own minds; that they are not tied to the apron strings. Often we hear compared the life of the child of yesterday with that of the child of to-day. Parents and grandparents look with horrified eyes at the doings of the young generation. They cannot understand youth's ways, and repeatedly those older people hold up their own young lives as models for emulation. HORRIFIED EYES Perhaps the life of the child of yesterday was too rigorous, but now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. We seem to have missed the happy medium. I have had considerable experience with young people having been a leader of Bible classes for some years. My dealings have been with girls of the critical ages, from 14 years to 21 years, and my work has included sex talks to those girls. I feel that I have been helpful to a number of girls m this way, and I have had many come to see me privately, seeking the answer to many problems that have troubled them. From my experience with young people, I am. sure that if parents would only strive to understand their children, and talk freely with them> we would soon achieve the happy medium of home life. It has been said that genius is only an infinite capacity for taking pains, and parents must always be on the job. Moreover, as the after life of a boy or a girl can be traced to their up.-

bringing, I, as a mother and a teacher of young folk, am of the opinion that we must look to the 'parents themselves to provide the solution to the ever-increasing problem of the modern boy and girl. Personally, I think the modem child is fine, and I have no fears for the modern boy or girl, so long as each goes into the world backed by a good, healthy home life. We, as a society, have been very keen to have women police. I think the policewoman is bound to come; we will keep at the matter until we have achieved our end. MOTHERLY INSTRUCT I am not m favor of the policewoman being controlled as are our constables now. She should be a free lance. She will, of course, have to be selected with great care, and must be a woman possessed of tact, strength of body and a motherly instinct. If a mother sees a girl going wrong, she does not become annoyed: she feels sorry for the girl, and that is the instinct most desirable m the women to be selected to ( watch over the welfare of our girls. i ao not, however, wish to dwell on the modern girl alone, for she has received so much notice of late that one is likely to overlook the modern boy. I think there is a tremendous lot m what the late Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey, said when a body of women asked that the age of consent be raised. "Ladies," replied Mr. Massey, "I must protect your boys, as well as your girls." Too long has it been a onesided affair. The girl who gets into trouble is cried down; the boy goes free. Mothers do not seem to realise that they must look after their boys as well as their girls, and that, I believe, is because the trouble come? home to the girl, and the shortsighted mother sees it m that light. They think first of the shame of being found out, but those nprpnts must first think of the moral welfare of their children.