TRUE DISCIPLINE by M. C. R.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 17, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 33.

TRUE DISCIPLINE.

By M. C. R.

[M. C. R., in The Household.]

When shall I begin to discipline my child? is a question which every mother ought to ask. If I say it is hardly possible to begin too early, many will be surprised, if not incredulous.

“I never punished a child before it was two years old,” said a dear old lady to me when my first baby lay in my arms.

“I don’t intend to punish at all,” I replied; for, like most inexperienced persons, I had fine theories in regard to bringing up children.

“I hope you won’t need to; but ‘In Adam’s fall, we sinned all,’ you know,” she said with a hearty laugh; thinking no doubt that a few years would teach me many things.

While my baby was “in arms,” my theories were delightful; but with creeping trouble began. The things that he ought not to touch were the only attractive ones, and most fascinating of all was the bookcase. Nothing delighted him more than to tug away till the books tumbled out on the floor. Persuasion and argument were of no avail. “No, No,” and “Baby naughty,” were greeted with bright smiles or utter indifference. I began to fear that the child knew he was not doing right, and that this knowledge added an element of mischievous pleasure. But what was to be done? I taxed my ingenuity, but I could not keep my child away from the books. Must I give up to a baby of a few months? I asked myself, ashamed that my theories had failed in the crucial test.

Suddenly common-sense came to the rescue. A dozen times had I carried the little fellow away from the scene of conflict, only to see him creep back with all speed at the first opportunity. Then, deliberately I threw my theories to the winds, and gave the dear chubby little hand a smart slap. Such a look of surprise and distress! It nearly broke my heart. Then a change came over the face, and with a defiant look that said “I will,” again he attacked the books. Again I slapped the hand; then I took the sobbing baby on my knee, talked with and quieted him. When I put him down this time the books were safe; he would not touch them.

The victory is won, I thought, with a sigh, for I was tired out with excitement. It was a relief to conquer, but the method was a trial. Then I remembered that our heavenly Father taught obedience in ways quite as hard to us as this had been to my child, and I was comforted.

Whenever after that my baby crept to the books a

decided “No,” or at most “Mama punish,” was sufficient to keep him out of mischief.

The battle had to be fought again in regard to other things—the poker and tongs, the album, the piano; but in the course of six weeks I felt safe to take my baby anywhere. In the midst of costly bric-a-brac I had no fear, for my child had learned the grand lesson of obedience.

“How do you manage?” a friend asked me as we were preparing to leave her house after a two days’ visit. “Much as I wanted to see you, I will confess that I hesitated when I thought of the child. My cousin’s little boy was here a week, and I couldn’t tell you how many things he ruined!”

“Has your cousin ever punished her child?” I asked.

“No! Why he isn’t three years old yet.” I smiled and did not wonder at her troubles.

There may be some mothers who can spare the rod without spoiling the child; there may be some children more easily influenced than mine; but for the majority, I do believe some punishment is necessary, and the earlier a mother begins the less of it she will have to do. “Wait until the child can understand,” I was told over and over again. Ah! but who can tell how early a child may understand the difference between right and wrong? Experience has taught me that if a baby learns to mind before he learns to walk, by the time he is two years old he will have settled into a habit of minding, then punishment will rarely be necessary.

In these days of ungoverned children—dreaded by host and hotel-keeper alike—every mother should insist on obedience at whatever cost to her own feelings. Make no unnecessary prohibitions. Make every effort to prevent disobedience. Divert the attention. Be sometimes deaf and blind to little unintentional misdemeanors. Punish sparingly; but when it is really necessary, never neglect it. How can we expect our children to obey the commands of God if we do not teach them obedience?