Article January 25, 1988 Issue

The thoughts that are genuinely ours

The Christian Science Monitor

One evening recently, after a day alternating between instances of minor mischief and his muttering that "I just don't like myself," my six-year-old son responded reluctantly to my request for help by getting something that I needed for his baby sister, whom I was changing upstairs.

When he returned, I thanked him, showing him how much he had helped. His face brightened. He bounded off to play—no more muttering, no more mischief.

The thought of helping someone else had given him a boost right out of the negative thoughts he had been entertaining about himself.

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