p. 10 | The First Years of Childhood by Luella B. Priddy

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 3, 1910

The First Years of Childhood

By Luella B. Priddy

MRS. LUELLA B. PRIDDY

I ONCE read in an old book an apt figure comparing the life of an infant to a tiny rivulet, which was so narrow that a hand across its path could turn it out of its course. As the rivulet trickled down the hillside, it gathered other rivulets to itself, until it became a brook. The brook gathered other brooks, until it became a river. The river received the waters of other rivers, until it became so mighty a stream that it could not be turned out of its course without disastrous results.

The author of the foregoing illustration also said that so small a matter as the feeding of the baby at regular intervals, or, on the other hand, the giving of food whenever the child cried for it, might determine the course the life would take. This is a strong statement, but it implies that the other rivulets flowing in all trend in the same direction.

I have often wondered why the author placed so much stress upon two such simple habits. It is just this: The child fed at regular intervals early learns the habit of self-control. He learns to wait patiently for the regular meal hour. The babe who is fed whenever he cries for food learns to watch his own feelings, and he makes them his guide. He learns to depend upon putting something into his mouth as a remedy for almost any kind of unpleasant sensation, either physical or mental. Aside from the harmful physical effects of such indulgence, it tends toward gluttony, intemperance, and immorality. It is possible to break up those evil habits, but the prospect of doing so diminishes greatly with increasing years.

In the first years of life the foundation of physical, mental, and moral health should be laid broad and deep. The baby is not merely a beautiful plaything, existing for the amusement of relatives and friends. His habits should be considered in the light of what they might become if allowed to develop. He should learn from the first that crying does not bring favors that are not good for him. When he grows older, it will not be so pleasant to have him confirmed in the habit of making people uncomfortable whenever he can not have his way. The Christian needs fortitude to endure the numerous ills of life, and the child will be far happier if he learns the lesson early.

Many a promising human bud has been blasted before it reached the blossom stage. I once stepped into a store to buy some goods. I met the little four-year-old son of the merchant, and by way of being sociable, I said, “Well, Freddie, are you a good boy this morning?” “No, I ain’t,” was the prompt reply, and with an air of deliberate finality, he continued, “I can’t be good; I’m going to be a bad boy.” Why had this sharp-eyed, wizen-faced lad come to so unhappy a conclusion? There was reason enough: he had been allowed to have his own way. When he was not behind the counter helping himself to candy or other eatables, he was quite apt to be engaged in some other kind of mischief. Instead of keeping him in wholesome restraint, he had been teased and hectored that people might hear his pert remarks, until he had become quite troublesome. Then he was frequently told what a bad boy he was. The poor little child did not know how to be good, and he was too discouraged to try.

When a little older, what can hinder this child from smoking cigarettes, and becoming one of the rough boys of the town?—Nothing, except an early and entire change of his home life. He is not learning to restrain his natural impulses, and it will be easy for him to yield to any temptation. All men have inherited sinful natures, but inherited traits are often less difficult to overcome than are those which result from wrong training.

Both parents should be united in the plans they pursue in the management of the child, and they should never say anything in his presence that would weaken the authority of either. A young mother was about to punish the baby for some fault, but the father pleaded, “She is too little to be punished; she doesn’t know any better.”

At another time he saw the baby down the garden path picking the tops off his seed-onions. With rapid steps he sped after her to prevent further mischief in that direction. Something in his quick movements alarmed the child. She feared consequences. “Don’t know any better,” was the appealing argument she used. He saw at least that it was not wise to discredit the mother’s methods in the presence of the child.

It is nice work to deal with human minds, and the all-wise Father has promised wisdom to those who seek him in faith.

Ellesmere, Ontario.