MOTHER AND HOLIDAYS

Wairarapa Age, 25 March 1920, Page 2

MOTHER AND HOLIDAYS

One of the pleasantest sights is that of the fanuly parties rounded after a school term. The pretty, eager mothers, the stalwart, calm-eyed daughters, the affectionate, talkative little sons, make the hippest groups imagnable—at the beginning of the holidays. But, too often, after the tirst week there ig a difference. Ihe mother is restless and irritable, the youngsters "fratchetty"; unseemly squabbles and outbursts of temper are frequent. What has happened? Is it merely that they have had too much of one another's society during the many weeks of holiday, for it is, of course, unnatural that children should .spend all their waking time together. Or is there some truth in the remarks made by a woman the other day? "I'm worn out with it, all," she said, "I'm sure I've devoied myself to the children, and they're just as cross and naughty as can be. I shall oe glad when the holidays are over." "Perhaps they're saying just the. same thing this very minute," laughjd her companion. "Have you never thought that you may be a most /Unsuitable companion for your children? tfo, you needn't look horrified. 1 j mean it.. I know I'm not good for j «y Greta. She's much like me. We are both highly strung and nervously excitable, and our moods react on 3ach other. She will come back placidly happy after an outing with her father or my old Seotdch nurse, but if I have had her for any length of oime she's too excited to rest and is ready for an outburst of irritation if the least little thing goes wrong. And I'm just the same. So I don't devote my time to her entirely, as you have been doing with your brood, and wo are the best of fr;enda. I'd never let her out of my care though, now she's young, because she is so like me in disposition that I understand all her queer moods and uncontrolled emotions better than any person would, but that' doesn't maqe me an ideal companion for her." There ia a strong modern tendency to over-stimulate the child's emotions. "Just look at that poor l.ttle boy. He can't have any nice house or mummy," a mother will say, pointing out to her small daughter some little ragamuffin playing happily in the gutter. And the child's active imagination will probably make her suffer icutely. It is not necessary to work an a child's feelings in order to rouse sympathy, and there should be no attempt to force children to display that unnatural gaiety or animation wb'ch some mothers think an attraction. Young children should be calm, should be serious, rather than over-animated. They will find their own excitement without any artificial stimulus, and the little one, sitting mute and solemn on the nursery floor push'ng about blocks of wood, which may be soldiers, ships or whatever ho chooses, is providing himself with as much emotion as is good for him. And, since clrldren aro instinctive little creatures, when he has had enough of it over go the soldiers and a rush up and down provides him with excitement of another kind.