RIGHTS OF FATHERS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 January 1932, Page 7

RIGHTS OF FATHERS

RELATIONS WITH CHILDREN. BRITISH DOCTOR’S VIEWS. London, Jan. 6; “Girls should be taught to talk to a father, as well as to a mother, of love affairs. The father is a better judge of the character of his daughter’s male friends than a mother. “A father should allow his girl to see her'boy friend at home and make himself scarce when not wanted,” said Dr. D. H- Geffen, addressing a conference of public health officers. “It is often a mother’s habit to instil in a son a fear of the father, threatening the father’s punishment, and resulting in the father being regarded as an ogre, which is extremely bad for the boy. “A father has as much right to a boy’s love as a mother, and should play with his boys whenever possible.” Dr. Geffen deprecated fathers boastin<r of their children’s scholastic attainments, especially those of children under seven, and declared that the attempt to instil much knowledge before the age of seven spelt disaster. . When teachers boasted that seven-year-olds had the brains of children of nine and ten, it only showed the child’s precocity and the teacher’s foolishness.