Heart and Soul | Page 5

child may still be spanked by the mother or father, but not

very often. The significance of the proceeding is not very great, and
half the time the spanking is occasioned by the irritable nervous
condition of the parent rather than the act of the child.
A child may sometimes be slapped by a nurse, usually when the nurse
is cross and ill-humored. But in nearly all cases, if a nurse dared to
whip a child, or cause it real pain, the child would only have to tell its
parents and the nurse would be discharged.
And such trifling chastisements as do occur to-day, are confined to a
very early age of the child. A boy or girl of twelve or fifteen has no fear
of a beating from father, or mother, or governess, or school-teacher.
School-masters are no longer allowed to whip their pupils, or even to
cuff them.
The old adage is no longer in force--it has been thrown into the discard.
"Spare the rod--" yes, the rod is spared, but it remains to be seen
whether on that account the child is necessarily spoiled.
"Children should be seen, not heard"--that idea, is also in the discard.
Boys and girls have as much right to their say as anybody else. At the
family table, in the home circle, the tendency is rather for their ideas
and their affairs to usurp the conversation. Their impressions are
fresher and more animated, and they are more abreast of the latest
up-to-date topics. An attitude of respect and reverence for the opinions
and notions of their parents, or grand-parents, would hardly be
expected of them. So many of the things to be talked about--motors,
wireless, airplanes, new wrinkles and changed conditions--are better
understood by them than the old people. It is easy for them to get the
feeling that the old people's ideas are rather moth-eaten and of not
much account. It is for the rising generation to tell and explain what's
doing now and for the setting generation to listen and make the most of
it.
Of course, this is not meant to imply that children have ceased to have
any respect for their parents. In any particular case, it is a question of
degree, depending upon the quality of the children, the quality of the
parents, the various conditions and influences of the family life. It is the

general tendency we are looking for--the underlying principle--which
makes itself felt to a greater or less extent, according to circumstances.
It is unquestionably true that the average child to-day is less often and
less severely punished than the child of the past. If it disobeys, it has
less fear of the consequences, so the importance of obedience becomes
a dwindling factor in its mental attitude and its behavior.
It learns to take orders with a grain of salt and as often as may be, it
disregards them, because they are not what it likes. That is the
beginning of a tendency--the first bending of a twig.
As the twig goes on growing with this slant, and the horizon of the boy
and girl opens out beyond the family circle to a larger world, existing
conditions are such as to encourage a continuation of the same
tendency. The selfish instincts and desires of the individual are opposed
by the same kind of influences and restraints that have been in force
since the beginning of civilization, but less effectively. And let us bear
clearly in mind that, for the time being, we are confining our attention
to the forces which act on the individual from without. That is the
thread we are following--the second consideration in our summary.
The influences and restraints which act on the boy or girl, as they go
forth from the home circle, are of various forms and kinds, but they
may be grouped in a few simple classes.
First: The school with its teachers and teachings.
Second: The influence of example and imitation--what others of their
age and kind are doing.
Third: The influence of public opinion, of tradition and customs--what
everybody seems to think is all right and approves, on the one hand,
and what is considered wrong and unworthy, on the other.
Fourth: Laws and regulations of constituted authorities.
Fifth: Sunday school and church--the religious influence with its

standards of wickedness and goodness.
If we consider these in order, we are not impressed by any striking
change in the school influence. In many respects, no doubt, schools are
better planned and more intelligently managed than they ever were
before. More attention is paid to ventilation, hygiene, recreation, on the
one hand; and on the other the methods employed in imparting book
knowledge are probably more enlightened.
As regards the question we are discussing--obedience, discipline,
respect for authority--on the whole, there