Dear Aunt Jennie:
This Christmas season when the children’s hearts beat with fond anticipations, visions of “sugar plums,” candy and toys, the hanging up of stockings, the coming of Santa Claus, etc., all combine to fill and animate their dear little hearts. And while I think they should be taught the meaning of Christmas, and its time-honored customs, I do not think it should be spent in revelry and dissipation, but in hearty reunions and in deeds of kindness. It is the time for “peace and good will toward men.”
I know it is the time of all times when the “small boy” becomes noisy, as are all the little ones. In Sweden, according to travelers who have lived in that country, it is a household custom to provide rooms where the children may go and cry and scream, and make all the noise they need to. In all other parts of the house they are expected to be quiet and mindful of the presence of their elders.
We must not let our hearts grow old as the years roll by, but try to be patient and bear the sudden noisy shouts of happy laughter. Let them romp, too; we enjoyed it when we were children, and childhood at best is short, and when we are peacefully sleeping under the daisies, these lads and lassies will take our places, and be trying the stern realities of life.
Remember, happiness is contagious; if we make others happy we cannot resist its blessed influence. Therefore do not rob them of the sweet memory of a happy childhood, but make home bright for the little ones and the older ones as well.
Parents sometimes complain that their boys and girls had rather spend their evenings anywhere else than at home. When I hear such a complaint it always occurs to me that the chief trouble may be in the fact that they do not make home a pleasant place for their children. Is it cheerful at the hearth and at the table? Are they bright and cheerful, or are they silent, moody and unsociable? Are the children furnished with proper supply of books, papers, magazines and other means of amusement and improvement, as their natures require? Does the mother make friends and confidants of her daughters, or does she merely dole out to them food and clothing? Do the parents, in short, sympathize in the joys and griefs, the hopes and fears of their children, or do they ignore all that is most essential to the happiness and general culture of childhood?
Teach the children to find more satisfaction in their homes, and they will agree with the little boy who has asked what sort of home he liked; his response was: “The sort of home it’s nice to go to.” If our domestic arrangements encourage that result, we shall not be obliged to worry over the problem of keeping the boys and girls at home. It does not mean an undisciplined home; that is quite as uncomfortable for the children as for the parents. But a co-operative home, where the children feel that they, too, have rights and duties in securing the mutual happiness of the entire household, is “the sort of home it’s nice to go to.”
Wishing Aunt Jennie and Social Chat, and all the dear children a happy New Year.
--Rebecca of Onslow County, N.C.
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