Life — December 18, 1902 — page 8: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

530 Our Educational Bureau. EVERYBODY knows that our present system of education is defective. In thts column will be given answers to anaious parents who wish to be guided in the development of their cAlldren along modern lines, TFB My little boy has a deplorable habit of going out in the fields and gathering all kinds of flowers, besides mooning away his time with butterflies and insects. I have tried to impress on him that he must some day be a money-maker, but he does not heed me. : Clara J. We suspect from your letter that you live in the country, a fatal environment for a child whose commercial tendencies are evidently so painfully Jackin; Do not be discouraged. Your boy is young yt Take him to the city where he will be out of reach of insidious flowers and insects. A good idea is to escort him daily for a walk up and down the principal residential avenues. Point out to him the mansions of the very rich, and suggest that some day, if he learns how, he may make a million. Thus his ambition may bo stimulated in the right direction, It is almost unnecessary to point out that your conversation in his presence should be only on one topic—the Almighty dollar. AN EXTREME CASE, It has been our constant hope and prayer that our little boy, now aged nine, may grow up to be a prominent physician and surgeon, but he has unfortunately displayed certain tendencies that seem to work in the opposite direction, He screams at the sight of blood, and for vars is extremely tender-hearted. Yesterday we caught him nursing a sick cat. Mrs. J. W.B. This is an extremely difficult and abnormal case, and hard to treat. Of course, if allowed to persist, these ten- dencies would be fatal to the career you have mapped ont for him, What you should do is to develop the scientific spirit in your boy. Gradually, by easy stages, suggest to his mind that no amount of cruelty matters, compared with tho interests of science. By constantly hammering this idea into his head he may in time come to believe it himself. This has happened before, even in cases as bad as you represent his to be. A VERY UNUSUAL YOUNG LaDy, I feel that something must be done about my little daughter, now nearly fourteen. While it is extremely painful in me asa mother to admit it, it is nevertheless a fact that she cares nothing for clothes. ppears to be entirely unconscious of herself. I may add that she has bad unusual advantages, having been abroad once, and for over a year at a fashionable school. What would you suggest ? P.Q.D. This is a very pathetic case, Our first thought was to send the child to some sanitarium, where in time she might regain her normal self. But even though the influence of her mother has had no effect up to date, still we should be very loath to have her separated from one who is so in earnest about her real welfare. We suggest a course of general treatment, which, to be successful, must be per- “ DON'T GIVE UP THE sir, OLD Boy.” “No, 1 DIDN'T KAT Tear.” sistent. Avoid all quieting influences as much as possible, and send the child to the theatre often, allowing her to see those of our actresses who pride themselves on their gowns. For this purpose, any actress will do. Much can be Gone by personal contact—therefore, allow her to make friends only with those who think of nothing but what they have on. In summer some well-known seaside resorts are vey stimulating. In winter she should, of course, live in large cities, New York in preference to others. NOT HOPELESS. My little girl, though only ten, is beginning to display an alarm- ing love for the theatre. stage-struck is she that she talks of nothing else. Iam so afraid that this will interfere with her social career that I don't know what to do, Mrs. H. 0. P. Do not be alarmed. Your daughter could not have a better foundation for society than a liking for the stage. She is as yet too young to perceive distinctions, but when she is older, you will be able to show her that the taste for acting offers a much larger opportunity in society than it does on the stage. And if she has any real talent, she will soon perceive where it can be best displayed. She might, as an actress, get a beggarly salary of a thousand or s0 a week, but in the other sphere, she stands a good chance of marrying any number of easy millionaires ; that is, if sho has real histrionic ability. My young son, although only eight, already lies like a trooper, gets the best of every other boy at a bargain, fights on the slightest provocation, seems to be naturally cruel, and has no respect for anything. What shall be done with him? 1.0. B. So many careers open for your precocious boy that it is extremely difficult to choose, and you will have to wait and let him decide for himself. He might easily bo a financier, a lawyer, a politician, a United States Senator or a yellow journalist. comicbooks.com