DEAL JUSTLY WITH THE CHILDREN.
There is oftentimes a great difference between the children in one family. One is quite plain, while the others are fine looking; or one is dull, while the others are bright. It is so easy to put the pretty child and the bright child in the foreground, and keep the plain child and the dull child back. Parents have shown such partiality in this respect, oftentimes, that the lives of the neglected ones have been made most miserable. “For some reason or other she has never seemed to be any favorite with her father,” said a friend in speaking of a child not long since; “he makes so much more of his other children than he does of her.” Children are quick to see partiality shown by parents, and when the recipients of it are particularly bright or pretty, the child who has not received these gifts thinks them the all-important ones, and grows to be morbid and curious. The pretty child is not always noted for sweet traits of character, by any means. Because she is made so much of, she becomes conceited and selfish. There is a pathetic poem which speaks of a father calling his “pet.” The footfalls that fell on his ear were from the child not in such great favor, and as he called, the little one responded, in a sad tone of voice, “It isn't ‘pet,’ papa. It's only me.” Some mothers get in a way, perhaps unconsciously, of allowing the sweet-tempered child to give up her rights because the brother or sister is imperious and exacting, and if denied what is wished for will make so much trouble. We heard a mother say, “Let sister have it, dear. You know what a time I shall have with her if you don't, and you are always so unselfish that you won't mind.” We were once in a family where there were two sisters. One was noted for her beauty and her talents, and the other for her plainness and sweet spirit. We noticed that the first choice of anything was always offered to the pretty one. The other sister always wished to have it so, altho she was the elder. She was perfectly unselfish and almost adored (if the word can be used in this connection) her younger sister. The whole household revolved around her, and she grew to think that she was entitled to the precedence and preference, and accepted11it as her due. We often wondered what the outcome would be in the years to come. We heard nothing for ten years from that family, as our lives were widely separated. Then we were told that the pretty sister was married, had three little children and a good husband, but somehow family cares were not to her taste and wearied her. The elder sister had not married, and was devoting her life to her younger sister and her family, lifting the cares from her selfish, pretty sister's shoulders. But she loved those children as if they were her own, and her influence over them, no doubt, was much better than their mother's, who preferred social pleasures to home duties. No thought of appreciation of her sister's sacrifices ever seemed to come to her mind. Parents should be on the alert to quell the tendency that one child in the family has to demand more of the others than is just and right. The child who has not the gifts of beauty and mental attainments which the others have, should be particularly noticed in love's sweet ways in consequence. Never should one child be allowed to domineer over another. Mothers will find the highest work of life, and that which will pay best in the end, right in their own homes. To teach children to cultivate the spirit of Christ in the home will be a power for good in their lives and the lives of those associated with them in later years. The fruits of the Spirit are “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, and meekness.” It is in vain for parents to point out the way to live in sweet accord to their children, unless they walk in that way themselves. Deal justly with the little ones. Teach them that a sweet, unselfish, loving spirit is far more to be desired than a pretty face or brilliant intellectual attainments without it.—Christian Work.