THE BOY AS A SON by Mrs. M. C. Du Bois

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 13, 1901

THE BOY AS A SON.

By Mrs. M. C. Du Bois

A WISE son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.” Prov. 10:1; 17:25.

What parent has not felt the truth of these words of “the wise man”? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So we conclude that a wise son is a Christian; but a foolish, wayward son always brings grief to the hearts of his parents.

The brother has his part in the homemaking, just as truly as the sister has hers. He can be a joy or sorrow to his parents, a blessing or a curse; and which it shall be depends largely upon the training he is given. Many parents find their boys hard to manage; so they give them the loose rein, and let them manage themselves, with little or no home training. Many a bright, headstrong boy has made shipwreck of himself because he has not been restrained and taught self-control.

If parents expect the boy to pay, they must invest in him time, earnest prayer, care, and painstaking. If father is taken up with politics, business, and pleasure, and mother with her housework or sewing-circle, or is all interested in Katie and Jennie, and has no time to devote to her boy, is it to be wondered at should he take the downward road? When a farmer has a colt or a calf from which he expects to reap a good profit, he gives it the best of care; but how often is the boy sadly neglected, left to follow his own will, and wander in idleness! Then we hear the parents cry out in bitterness of soul, “O that boy! he is not worth his salt.” Who is to blame?

To be a good son the boy must be taught obedience even in the smallest things. He should be taught self-denial, also to respect the rights of each member of the family, even the domestic, if one is employed.

The model boy is willing to do his part, and is no shirk. He will not snarl if asked to bring a pail of water, to fill the wood-box, or to do anything in the line of housework that may be required of him; for the boy should be taught to make himself useful in the home, and it is not belittling to any boy to know how to cook and to do general housework. The boy who will see his mother or sister bring in the wood and water, dig the potatoes, or do other similar work, is lacking in respect for mother or sister. The mother who brings up her boy to sit around in idleness, to be waited upon, makes a sad mistake.

A boy has rights which should be respected in the family. He ought to have a room all his own if it is possible, furnished as well as the parents’ means will allow. Most generally anything is thought good enough for the boys’ room. Old cast-off furniture, a dingy carpet (often no carpet at all), faded curtains, a faded and worn quilt for his bed, walls bare, no bright, tasteful ornaments—such is the picture of more than one boy’s room. Is it any wonder that he slips away from his room to go “just a little way down street,” where the saloon is fitted up to entice just such boys? Boys love pretty things, and the parents who invest something to make home attractive to their boys will, I believe, find it less trouble to keep them at home.

The boy as a son should be a comfort and help in his home. The father ought to be able to look upon him with joy and pride, as the one to take his place and carry out his unfinished plans. The mother should be happy to point to him and say, “Yonder is my son, a joy and comfort to my aged heart.” A wise son will not bring the gray hairs of his father and mother in sorrow to the grave.

MRS. M. C. DU BOIS.

Grand Ledge, Mich.