THE FAVOURED RACE.

Waikato Times, Volume 93, Issue 14540, 11 December 1920, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE FAVOURED RACE.

COMING OF THE CHILDREN. (By Maxama.) _ The greatest changes that take Mlace in our manners and customs are commonly those which attract least "notice at the time. When the historian of the future, whose ofllce we are always trying to usurp, comes to write of the past and present generation he may say that it was the time when children first came into their own. We have all read, and elderly people may recollect, that 50 years ago children were expected to observe an attitude of reverence towards their parents, their school teachers, and to all others In authority. For good or bad it lias all disappeared, and reverence is a quality that is unknown to the present generation of children, and almost equally a stranger to their elders. We should probably all agree that in many ways the disappearance of the hushed iwe that once accompanied the presence of seniors is a great improvement. To be called on to show more respect than was felt bred a rebellious spirit; it raised a barrier between parents and children, and often provoked a spirit of opposition based on nothing beyond resentment. That fathers and sons can mix in their spo'rts, that mothers can renew their youth in their daughters is something to be duly grateful for, and it docs much to preserve that home life which Is broken in upon by so many agencies. It is. too, always a good thing to do felt It deserved no other names. Precedence Replaces Tolerance. r tbe general feeling entertained by the seniors of 50 or 60 years ago towards the young people of their time was that of tolerance for the follies of youth, or a rigid endeavour to suppress guch follies. No doubt whatever existed respecting the foolishness of young people. Our ancestors’ proverb that the young man thought the eld man a fool, but the old man knew the young one to be such expressed % very general opinion. We have, however, altered all this; the schoolmaster has been abroad in the land; *ons and daughters have been instructed in sciences and accomplishments, of which the very names were unknown to their parents and grandparents, and the young people naturally think themselves very fine fellows, and the old people are much inclined to acquiesce in that opinion. Not only so, but we have all come to think that childhood is the time of enjoyment, and that whatever may be the lot in after life, its opening should be made as happy as possible. Does • Prince pay us a visit it is the children who are called on to do the entertaining, and to sit in the reserved seats. If a man-of-war visits our shores the best chance of seeing her that the parent has is to take charge of his child when the visit arranged for the school lakes place. To most people the pleasure of a show consists mainly In the joy and excitement of the young people,, and it Is a nice question whether the pleasure is a selfish or an unselfish one. The good times the youngsters enjoy certainly tend to create some desirable qualities, and eradicate some bad qualities, but there Is 'undoubtedly a danger that tire process may be carried too far. We were, lurid language not long since of *e damage done to our teeth and our digestion by the consumption of too much sugar. The mental digestion of our youngsters may very possibly suffer from too much sugar in our treatment of them. If the size of families were what it used to be, the danger would be negligible. Most people will remember David Harum’s experiences at the circus. It would have taken many circuses to injure him, but then he was one of a dozen children. Many, if not most, children to-day are members of very small families. Only children are not commonly popular; the solitary chick gels such a plethora of care and attention from the parental hen that its view of life is apt to get out of perspective. One Is haunted by the vision of a nation in which all the adults were at one time only children. It is to be feared that such a nation would be a menace to its neighbours, and an unbanpiness to itself. Dangers of Expectation, It Is said sometimes that school life And education are made too easy and too attractive to children, and there is probably some truth in the statement. It cannot be said, however, that the children generally take advantage of this. On the contrary they do as a rule take school much more seriously than did those potent, grave and reverend seigniors, their forefathers. This may be the result of emulation or of better teaching, although it is more likely to proceed from precocity. The intimacy .between parents and children leads to V-jnuch greater sense of responsibility, an'd’ the young folks cease to act and to think as children at an earlier age. It is not uncommon to find the older members of a household the more lighthearted, for young people are apt to take life very seriously. The danger does not lie in study being made too easy, but in the habit of constantly placing the child in the forefront of the picture, and considering its desires, Interests or pleasures before that of other people. Youth is a receptive age; the expectation of priority is easily created, and if it is nut forthcoming the want Is resented. Yet it Is certain that we cannot all occupy the limelight in our walk through life, and many will never do so when childhood is over. That would be no deprivation to those who had not been led to expect it, but may be the cruellest of disappointments to any who have been led to such expectation. The pangs of disappointed vanity point the text of psychologists. It is a question whether we are not running some danger of creating an expectation which cannot be fulfilled. The man who is unduly conscious of his dignity and of the respect due to him is the victim of endless small annoyances; he 'goes through life with a thin skin, and we may be preparing a like fate for too many of the growing generation. But let us hasten to add as a few words of practical application that the foregoing is not intended to act in any way as a check upon the good old custom of honouring Santa Claus. There Is a time for wisdom and a time for folly: a time to take thought, and B time to be merry. Christmas is the .time for the last named, and the children are entitled to its full benefit. (