CHILD WELFARE

White Ribbon, Volume 26, Issue 13, 1 June 1955, Page 4

CHILD WELFARE

What the Department Supt., says . . . Feed My Lambs—What Can We Do? Ml who make a Study of child psych that Ihc earliest fCt childhood arc important in the dcvdopmcpl of i health) personality life. They state that parents should be properK prepirtd for parenthood and that the prenatal term hoi an effect upon the tntnre of the child. Dr. Alexia Carrel, after an intensive study <>t the effecti of alcohol, stated emphatically that mothers should he informed of the danger! which alcoholic drinks bring to the unh<>rn daring pregnancy and through the nursing period Vet there are thottlandf "t mothers m-iiu heer. as ;i so -called tonic. and drinking cocktaiK at social gatheringl and at home, daring tins critical period, becavsc they <i" not rec< the danger, surely. Three incibnensablei that yonng children must , in order to develop a healths personality, are 1. The child needs to feel he is loved. 2. The child needs to feel he belongs. 3. The child needs to feel he is important.

An essential to these needs is that of spiritual growth. How can he attain this, unless h c is in a God-centred home: He must feel the love ifl the home reaching into his innermost being; he ' to he tOOght early that k>V< l-given and tliat i> ins Heaven!) Father. He must tliat his parents look to God for guidance. \s loon as lie can li<p a prayer, he should he led to talk to God. Through simple Bible stories, pictures, re-

i hymns onfd he taught the securit) hristian h< i Parents —The Ideal nil ally, m the yonng yearn, his ideal be his parents. What the) do. he imitates. What they are, he wants to he. If they quarrel COOily, he becomes quarrelsome; it their con* versation is unwholesome, he absorbs that class (tech; if they drink 1" remgC alcohol, he will surely want to follow in their footsteps. But it they are considerate in their relationships to are spiritually minded, have high Is, and let the example of right habits, in the majority the children will vtrow up to be like them But we must remember that there arc ■ •'.her influences, which ma\ he either helpful or harmful m the child's development. Their relatives, the neighbours, the corner storekeeper, the mailman, the policeman, the Sunday School and day "1 all influence the unfolding life of the child. The radio is in most homes ami the children's listening hours are not always caretulh chosen. The Master of Psychology is Christ, the M.t psychology, re I the imiM.it.nice of the little child'- development. He 5, t1 ,l Il( ,t only, My lamhs." hut "Let the little me nut" Me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." He also warned. "I'.ut whoso shall offend one o( these little one which hehe\e in Me. it were better hun that a millstone wen hanged about his neck, and that he WCTe drowned m the depti.s oi • The liquor bottle is the millstone in too many homes. What Can We Do? What can W.C.T.U women do about all this? 1. We need to work harder with our ministers and church members, that they may have more the necessity for total abstinence. 2. We need t.. keep ourselves informed and read) with real fearlessness and consecration to discus* the liquor situation whenever opportunity an-'

foster forum and other discussion groups on narcotic education among yonng parents, with pi uidance, and to work with such croups as the I'.T.A. and parent groups in churches.

1 We need to promote legislation favourablt hetter homes and to oppose legislation detrimental to hoot 5. As individuals, we need to he friendly to young people in our neighbourhood—interesting them in church and \n open door for these jirojects i« the dedicatory sen ice for Little White Ribbonei Then comes all the follow-up work outlined in these fi\c projects and others you may wish to a'ld. In the Child Welfare Department of the V men's Christian Temperance Union lies its future, for here is an opportunity for bringing younß mothers into membership; for training the child for future membership in the Loyal Temperance on, and the "V branch, and as future membefs of the W:CT.U Herein lies our pri\elee;e of helping fnany itomes to abstain from harmful habits and to become more spiritually minded. May God lielp us to realize the importance of our task, as we work for the welfare of the smallest "child in our midst." —By Ethel Bliss Baker. (Union Signal)