Article July 7, 1917 Issue

Training the Child

VIVIAN M. KUENZLI

With each succeeding year the writer has had occasion to feel more and more grateful for having been given the teaching of Christian Science to meet the problems of daily living. Especially in working among the children in the home and the Sunday school has she felt much joy for the helps along the road furnished through the wise forethought of our dear Leader and the loving, unselfish work carried on continually through The Christian Science Publishing Society.

On page 61 of Science and Health our Leader asks this pertinent question: "Is not the propagation of the human species a greater responsibility, a more solemn charge, than the culture of your garden or the raising of stock to increase your flocks and herds?" If the parents who are studying Christian Science were awake to the great blessing and inestimable value of our daily newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, along this line alone, there would be fewer homes without this pure and uplifting educator. If there were any truth in the suggestion that we ourselves have not the time to read it, still there are the children to be considered, and the pages devoted to them are well worth the interested attention of older children as well. In our own home we found that when there was another sort of newspaper lying about, the children were quite likely to pick it up to read or to look at the pictures, and after much prayerful thought we decided that we did not want them given such mental food as is contained in most of the daily papers. Then the question arose, If it is not good for the child to think on such accounts of crime and disease, why should it be good for us? So we discontinued the use of other dailies in favor of our own,—"the full grain in the ear."

Many times the question is asked regarding the method of teaching a child to be obedient, and we know that it must always be by example; that is, by the earnest daily effort of the parent to learn obedience to Principle, as we are taught through Science and Health and our Church Manual, not forgetting that our Leader sounds the positive note on page 236 of our text-book when she says: "Children should obey their parents; insubordination is an evil, blighting the buddings of self-government. Parents should teach their children at the earliest possible period the truths of health and holiness." Again, on page 51 of "Miscellaneous Writings," she has given us a more complete statement regarding the question of governing the child.

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