EXORCISING DEVILS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17526, 1 May 1925, Page 8

EXORCISING DEVILS.

SUPPER METHOD FOR YOUNG CONDEMNED. MEDICAL OFFICER’S VIEWS. ; ' Much -wise counsel ;o parents was I given by Dr Charles S. Thomson, modi- j cal officer of health for Deptford, in j his lecture on the mental and moral j education of the child at the Institute > of Hygiene recently, reports an Eng-, lisli journal. “ When you lift your; newly-born child in your arms.” he! said, k ‘ say Lo yourself with Plato, i ‘The aim of the human race is liappi- ; ness. What must i do to make this i child happy ” lie dwelt on the! fact*.that the causes of much mental j disorder, of difficulties of personality, ; and of aberrations of behaviour were j now known not lo be due to mental i disease, but to difficulties in the life! of the individual in the home or ! school or in the world. Fie did not j adapt himself easily to his surround- \ ings and conditions oi life. The moral and mental training oi j a child should therefore aim at fitting j him to deaL happily with liie. He : should be prepared lor the business o.' living. Dr Thomson did not accept : the theory that heredity placed 1 imi- . tations upon a child’s capacity or possibilities for development- inherited factors could never be ignored in any case oi human behaviour, but we were justified in believing that we could ; never know precisely what sort of child i the offspring ot any two parents was i likely to be. It was a mistake to say that mental characteristics could riot be altered, but it -was easier to 1 alter them in the child than iu the; adult. “ Bring out the child’s good points,” ho said, “ refuse to believe in the doctrine of original sin, it that moans that the child lius an inheritance of devilment which must he exorcised i with father’s shoe. 1 have never raised a hand to my children, but perhaps there is something deadly in the old man's eye which compels re-si-Jeet.” The child should be brought up in a borne atmosphere of kind words and gentle voices. The mother who nagged ought herself to consult a psycho-therapeutist. It should be remembered that the child would have to face difficulties and worries in later life, and in its childhood it should see how cheerfully and courageously older persons could act in fact of defeat. There should be no repression, but there must be discipline, for the child who was given in to at every turn would have a hard j time when he had to deal with the • inevitable difficulties of life. He should be taught from the beginning habits of self-control, obedience, and truthfulness and self-denial. J Children should never bo deceived or told a lie, or frightened by tales ot policeman and bogeyman, nor should they be punished by being put m the | Then Dr Thomson discussed tlm . questions of wliat sex instruction *should be given to children, at that j age, and in what manner. He r thought they should be told certain things as soon as tlieir curiosity was aroused, or .when there was any sign of bad habits being formed, and the child must not bo allowed to feel that its questions should not have been asked. It was a mistake to isolate sex instruction from general moral instruction, or to invest the sex function with an interest and mystery that did not apply to the whole ol life. Children naturally wanted to know about the origins of life. The lecturer quoted Dr Lyttelton’s opinion that the mind of a boy was not safe from defilement after ten years of age. “Your boy is not a plaster saint,” be said. “Ifhe is not informed he will indulge with his companions in an orgy of speculation which would horrify you if you overheard it.” He thought the information should be given in stages. bn infant schools children should be taught simple things about personal hygiene, the care of the hair, teeth, nails, and body, and habits of cleanliness, modesty, and reticence in regard to bodily functions which’ should nial>e them respect their own bodies and the bodies of others. Simple lessons in animal life would enable the teacher to inculcate unconsciously ideas of parenthood. The teacher should be prepared to answer questions. Dr Thomson suggested that in the first year at elementary sc tools there should bo simple observation lessons to plant life, fertilisation, and reproduction; in the second year habits, but not reproduction: in the third year on young organisms, vegetable and animal, and on common needs, functions, etc. ; and in the fourth and fifth years lessons on the human body and its functions. In the last year of the elementary school a course "of personal hygiene lessons should include special instruction on adolescent changes and parenthood. The duty of instruction lay first ol all upon the parents, and if they were not competent to give it, or shirked the duty, it devolved upon the teacher, who must, however, have the parents’ consent, and as far as possible their co-operation. But it was essential that those who sot out to give instruction should be competent.