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and encouragement to develop the right kind of confi–
dence and sense of worth and the capacity to feel and
express affection themselves. Even though this may
seem so obvious to sorne, it is, sadly, one of the most
neglected areas of child rearing.
As parents, each of us must learn to hold, kiss,
cudd le and
encourage
not only our babies but our
younger children as well. The habit of touching, hug–
ging and physically expressing affection to our chil–
dren is somethi ng one should never outgrow!
Yet how many parents have been emotionally crip–
pled in this respect? Men too often have been taught
to be the strong, silent types. By example and
infer–
ence,
males in the English-speaking world were taught
that it is not proper for he-men to kiss and cuddle their
young children-especially their boys.
Perhaps we do not realize that for
centuries
it has
been customary for countless millions of fathers in the
Middle East and in the Latín world to kiss andjor
embrace even their grown sons!
Express Your Love
So all you fathers and mothers alike, learn to
reg–
ular/y
hug and kiss your
youn g children. T ake
them in your arms and
h ug t hem when yo u
come home from work.
Pl ay with them, teach
them, read to them while
they are sitting on your
lap, and then hug them
and kiss them again as
you put them to bed.
Tell them: "Mommy and
Daddy love you. We are
proud of you. Mommy
and 1 are very glad to
have a little boy (or girl)
like you."
With such !ove and encouragement, your children
will literally bloom like beautiful flowers before your
eyes. For your love and assurance and the sense of
security it provides will
nourísh
them as surely as does
physical food.
And in doing all this, you will be building a deep
bond of affection and trust that will make it
much
easier
for your children to
want
to respond to your
teaching, training and even correction when that is
necessary. 1 have found in my own family that this
bond will carry through even after your children are
married and have homes of their own.
Always let your children know that you will !ove
them and t ry to help them no matter what. You may
disapprove or even strongly correct them for the gen–
uine mistakes they will certainly make. But that does
NOT
change the underlying
/ove
and affection you will
always feel for them.
Knowing this, a child's self-esteem, confidence and
sense of worth are st rengthened immeasurably. He (or
she) can then respond to the turbulent problems of life
with a quiet strength.
Such a child can also
give
!ove and security and
16
understanding to others because he has experienced it
himself.
Teaching and Training
How many countless hours will a horse trainer spend
teaching his mount various tricks and maneuvers?
Have you ever noticed the sel f-discipline and patience
that most animal lovers have when working with a
show horse, a pointer, setter or prize-winning canine of
whatever breed?
What about our
own children?
The little human
beings that come out from our own bodies? The adults
and leaders of tomorrow?
Unlike an animal- which has instinct-a little child
knows nothing at birth. Though a young calf is
equipped with both strength and inst inct to get up and
suckle its mother, a human baby could- without
assistance- Iie an arm's length from his mother's
breast and starve to death!
Humans must be taught
EYERYTHING.
A little child must not merely be toilet trained. He
or she must be taught
how
to eat, and later on
what
good foods to eat in right balance and
why.
Children must be
taught
how
to sit and
work and speak properly.
How
to dress and groom
themselves properly. How
to show concern and
courtesy toward others–
including their own par–
ents.
Without such training,
they will certainly grow
up. But they are certainly
~
not properly reared. And
~
they are probably
NEYER
le
going to have the under–
~
standing, the culture, the
courtesy or the
capacity
to become highly successful individuals and leaders in
the adult world.
Teach Right Hab its
T eaching and training your children regularly is an
absol ute prerequisite to their future success. From
early childhood you need to drill your children in the
habit of obedience.
Little toddlers can be taught to
"come here," "go sit in that chair," " now come back
again," "bring Mommy (or Daddy) the toy," etc.
By the time they are 3 or 4 years old , give them
small chores to do. Teach them and work with them
in
always
putting the toys back in the toybox when
they are finished playing. I n putting the towel back
on the towelrack, in washing their hands before a
mea
l.
1 can almost hear sorne of the permissive educators
saying, " But you'll just make them into little automa–
tons."
The answer?
Would you rather have happy, obedient ,
living
chil–
dren? Or, would you consider that if little Johnny (or
Mary) is not trained to respond to his parent 's instruc-
The
PLAIN TRUTH