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about their accomplishments. But unless
this attitude is nurtured, it can easily
die.
Parental guidance and instruction is
personalized in a way which cannot be
duplicated by schools. A parent can deal
with his children on an
individ11al
basis. A teacher has 30 or more pupils
to care for - and little time for indi–
vidualized instruction.
Parents need to cemember that educa-
Ambossoclor Collo¡¡o Photo
CHILDREN ARE GREAT MIMICS
- Children ore more influenced
by exomples thon words, os is this
child who is mimicking his cigor–
smoking porent.
tion does not have to be sophisticated
oc
complex. An explanation of "why"
can add to a child's understanding of
the world around him.
Rare, though, is the parent who has
been taught how to rear and educate his
children. Competent parenthood is
lookeJ upon as an instinct which will
magically appear when needed. Usually
there is no grasp of the responsibilities
and no vision of the great possibilities
wrapped up in a child. No special
thought is given to the development of
those possibilities.
And no plan of ac–
tion
is
orttlined.
What should a parent teach his chil–
dren, theo? And how should he go
about it?
A Broad Range of Experiences
A child is born knowing nothing. He
has to learn everything. And much of
The
PLAIN TRUTH
his early learning will be by experience
and experimentation.
Beginning with your own home, you
need to give your children the broadest
range of experiences.
The "work" of infants and toddlers
is moving about and exploring their
surroundings. Muscles and coordination
are developed by crawling, walking and
other motor activities. Research also in–
dicates that the stimuli of coordinated
movements early in life have a critica!
role in the development of the braio.
Freedom to wander through mucb of
the house is necessary for a child if be
is to understand his world. Children
need to be instructed what not to touch.
But parents should arrange their homes
so that cbildren can freely explore with
a mínimum of "don't touch's."
Children of all ages benefit by being
included in the day's regular activi–
ties. Sbopping, painting the feoce, visit–
ing friends, or planting the backyard
garden are ali helpful educational
experiences.
Special trips to the mountains, the
beach, points of interest, zoos, dairies,
oc
construction sites are important
learning experiences also.
A variety of specific skills should be
developed in each boy and each girl as
they gcow older. As much as possible
fathers should teach their sons basic
manual skills - principies of carpentry,
gacdening, mechanics and the like.
Mothers should teach their daughters
the homemaking arts and gardening.
Parents need to encourage their
cbild's athletic and sports development.
Basic coordination skills of running,
skipping, jumping, swimming, catching
and throwing are needed as a founda–
tion. Team sports can teach cooperation
and the right kind of aggressive drive.
Camping, hiking, horseback riding,
fishing, hunting, snow skiing, and
water skiing add greatly to the develop–
ment of any child.
Children also need a variety of social
cootacts and events - from group out–
ings to home entertaining to dining out.
Activities such as these not only edu–
cate, but done
together
they are the con–
crete, personal experiences that draw
parent and child togethec. Such shared
experiences convey love and concern.
They create an atmosphere in which
September 1971
inner thoughts, feelings, dreams, and
hopes can be expressed. And they effec–
tively do away with any generation gap.
A variety of experiences will also
develop right self-confidence in children
- a positive eagerness towards new op–
portunities rather than a withdraw–
ing, doubtful, discouraged inferiority
complex.
Teaching Charactec
Even more important than providing
a variety of experiences, parents need to
specifically teach right character, posi–
tive attitudes, responsibility, honesty.
The home
is
the only really effective
place where children can learn these
t raits. Schools can supplement the teach–
ings, but the basic mold is set at borne.
Above aH else, the parental model -
your example - will determine your
child's character. Children will follow
an example far more quickly than a lec–
ture. A parent canoot smoke and hope
his children will somehow "do as
Daddy
says
and not as he
does."
A father who breaks the speed limit
until he spots a police officer or gripes
when he receives a traffic ticket is teach–
ing bis children the same kind of dis–
obedient behavior. He is teaching his
children an " it's all right as long as you
don't get caught" attitude. A mother
who belittles her husband is teaching
her daughter how she should treat her
own future husband.
Much of today's youth rebellion is a
reaction to a double standard - parents
who told their children to do one thing
but were seen doing another.
If
parents
want children with wholesome character
and right attitudes, parents must first
insure that their own character is
wholesome and their attitudes are right.
Child rearing and development are
still the responsibility of parents. And
parents can still make the best teachers
- if they will only learn how. No
institution can replace the right in–
fluence of loving, thoughtful, dedicated
parents.
If
you would like additional informa–
tion about teaching your child, send for
the book,
Plain Truth About Child
Rearing,
offered without charge by
Ambassador College. See the staff box,
inside front cover, for the address near–
est you. O