What Do Your Children Read?
NEXT to human associates, nothing is more potent in molding the characters of the youth — our children — than what they read; and in many cases what they read is primary in its influence. There are indifferent parents and indifferent associates. Their influence is neither very good nor very bad. They live sort of selfishly honest lives, have a desire that their children shall grow up well, believe that they themselves did, and conclude, of course, that their children will. Their influence over their children is positive in neither a moral nor an immoral direction; it may be said to be unmoral. It is to this class (among which are many professed Christians) that these words are addressed. How many times do we see the children of such parents among the low, the vicious, the criminal. What is the cause? In the first place, it is indifference on the part of parents. The training of their children, which should be the first thought, is generally the last consideration. More attention is often given by the farmer to his colts or calves than to his children. Oftentimes more attention is given by mothers to the peddling of neighborhood and church gossip than to their children. If the little, inquiring mind comes with a question or a trial which might take a little time to answer or smooth away, which would prove a valuable lesson to the parent, he is told to “go out and play,” or “Do not bother me now.” In such ways as these the indifferent parent turns the child away from what ought to be his true source of knowledge, to those which are generally questionable, and oftentimes fatally destructive. One evil is always wrought, the child loses confidence in the parent. And many times a greater evil is done in indirectly sending the child to those sources of information which fill the mind of the child with moral poison. In a few years the erstwhile innocent little boy is a mental and moral wreck, and parents, and acquaintances like-minded, wonder why it is so. But it is so, and so because of the selfish do-nothingness of parents. Not long ago a little girl — a mere baby — was sent to a state reform school. Her sister, older, yet a child, shot her lover, and then attempted to commit suicide. One discerning writer then remarked that these girls were the victims of the indifference of parents. He was probably right. We are living in a most intense age. All the world and all its classes are brought together by railway and telegraph and printing-press; and yet it is possible for us to choose our associates and the associates of our children if we will give the subject the thought and the energy and the decision and the expense which its importance demands. We should first of all see not only that our children do not have evil associates and companions, but good ones. And to insure this, we ourselves should associate with our children so fully, so absolutely, so confidentially, so helpfully, so companionably, so purely, that they would measure all others by us, and reject what did not meet their standard.9 We should not only see that our children do not read bad books of light and trashy literature, of fiction and folly, of crime and brutalism, but we should provide them with good books and papers,— useful, interesting, and such as will materially assist in good character-building and usefulness in the chosen profession or vocation of life. As the foundation book of all, take the Bible. Read it with them. Make it interesting to them by taking it into your own life. Encourage them to form a library for themselves. Books on the teaching of God in history, in nature, in science and art, are all useful. Much more might be said. We feel intensely in earnest over the matter. We would that we could arouse parents everywhere to the infinitely important duty which God has laid upon them of the training of their children, important elements of which are their companions in persons and books. Our children are forming characters for eternity, for death or for life; what are we doing about it?