How to Raise a Responsible, Capable Child, Aug. 29, 1923

Train Children to Accept Responsibilities

Progressive Farmer

While only the father or widowed mother in a family may be interested in the lesson taught in the foregoing letter suggests a mistake that both fathers or widowed mother in a family may be interested in the lesson taught in the foregoing letter suggests a mistake that both fathers and mothers should be anxious to avoid—the failure to train children to accept responsibility. A subscriber (who naturally wishes is real name withheld) tells the story as follows:

“My father was a hard working man and taught his children to work form daylight to dark. Until I was 22 years old I never had anything I could say was my own. I was never allowed to make a trade of any kind. Father never consulted sons about anything nor did he allow us to suggest anything to him. We were simply machinery in his hands and were raised up without any ideas of our own. Therefore until this day we have no confidence in ourselves and feel handicapped about any and everything we undertake.

“Don’t raise your family like this. Talk things over with the children, give them something of their own to do as they please with, let them make some trades and gain the confidence that it takes to make men who do things.”

There have been thousands of just such mistakes as this—failure to accept responsibilities. Sometimes the father or mother wishes to shield the child from having to do the hard thing, especially if the child begs a little. Sometimes the parent is unwilling to trust the child with important duties. Sometimes the parent just doesn’t want to take the time and trouble to train the boy or girl to handle real responsibilities rightly. But whatever the parent’s motive may be, it is always a mistake not to train boys and girls to do the most difficult things to be done on the farm, both in actual farm work and actual farm business. It pays to consult the children. Then if a child’s opinion is right, congratulate him; if wrong, point out clearly just wherein he is wrong.

From the front page of the North Wilkesboro Hustler, Wednesday, August 29, 1923