seed for nearly a year as it slowly grows into a little baby girl or baby boy.
THE MATING STORY
You remember the story of how Bob Robin found Jenny Robin, don"t you?
You remember mamma told you how Bob came up from the southland early in the spring and asked Jenny in lovely bird song to come and be his very own wife? How he promised her he would feed her on cherries, and currants and the fattest of worms? And that she told Bob she loved him and went to live with him, and how they built that cute little nest to hold the eggs; and how Jenny Robin sat on the nest until the little baby robins were all hatched out.
Well, one day papa found mamma. He met her and loved her dearly and told her he wanted her to come and live with him, and they built their home nest and were very happy together, because they decided they would always love each other more than any one else in the world.
After mamma and papa built their home and lived together, one day a wonderful change came to one of the baby seeds and it awakened and began to grow. Mother Nature whispered to it, and told it how to find its way into this little room and there it clung to the wall and grew for nearly a year. Papa brought mamma nice things to eat, just as Bob Robin did Jenny. Papa did everything he could to make mamma happy and comfortable.
For nearly five months this little seed just grew and did not let anybody know it was there, until one day it began to tap against the sides of the walls of this little room, and every time it did mamma"s heart just bounded with joy as she thought of the precious seed growing to be a darling baby--and all inside of her very own body. And one day, after nearly a whole year had pa.s.sed, the door to the room began to open, and, very soon, a lovely baby found its way out of this special room into the big, big world. Mother Nature then told this little baby that it might still remain close to the mamma it had been with so long, and so she taught it how to get its food every day from mamma"s breast. At this point the child usually breaks out by saying, "Now, mamma, I know just why I love you so much."
UNFOLDING THE TRUTH
I shall always remember with pleasure my own son, not quite two-and-a-half years old, who sat at the table one day asking numerous questions such as, "Mamma, what is that? Mamma, where did that come from?" etc.
He picked up a navel orange, and pointing to the navel said, "What is that?"
I frankly said to him, "Why, my dear, that is the baby orange."
"Why, Mamma," he exclaimed, "do oranges come from oranges?"
"Certainly, dear child; where else could they come from?"
"But," he says, "Mamma, do potatoes come from potatoes?"
"Why, honey," I said, "Orange babies come from orange mammas, potato babies from potato mammas, grapes come from grape mammas, little kitties from kitty mammas, and little boys from their mammas."
We simply mixed all the babies up, just as you would mix up a delicious fruit salad. We took from the mind all question of mystery and surprise by quickly and honestly answering his question. Thus, his first knowledge of his origin, if he is able to recall it, will ever be a.s.sociated with oranges, grapes, potatoes, kittens, etc.
We did not tell the whole story for some two or three years later, but day by day we simply answered the questions as he asked them.
One day, when he was about three, he burst into my bedroom, saying, "Mamma, dear, I did come from you, didn"t I?"
"Why, yes, darling, from n.o.body else; just from your own mamma and papa."
"Say, mamma, was my hand in your hand, my foot in your foot, my head in your head?"
"No, dear," I replied, "You were all curled up as snug as a little kitty is when it"s asleep, and you slept for nearly a year in a little room underneath mamma"s heart."
It was a wonderful story. He threw his chubby arms about my neck, his legs around my waist, and said: "You dear, dear, mamma. I do love you and papa more, just awful much."
THE DOCTOR"S PART
In my private sitting-room, where William and I have had many conferences, there hangs my medical-cla.s.s picture with cla.s.smates and faculty. A member of my family was one day answering the boy"s queries as to who this one or that one was, etc. Finally, on pointing to one particular face, the answer came to his inquiry, "That"s Dr. P. You wouldn"t be here if it wasn"t for him." That evening the little fellow, just past three years, came to me and asked, "Mamma, didn"t you say I came from you?"
"Yes, dear," I replied.
"Well, Auntie says I wouldn"t be here if it wasn"t for Dr. P. What did the doctor have to do with it?"
"Why, simply this, dear. The door to the little room in which you grew in mamma"s body wouldn"t open, and so kind Dr. P. came and helped open the door."
"And let me out?" exclaimed the eager child. "Oh, I want to go and see Dr. P. and thank him for helping me out!"
And this little fellow was neither shocked or surprised, any more than he was over finding out that orange babies came from orange mammas.
In the same frank manner in which the simpler questions are answered, strive to answer these important ones. If we seek to evade, to postpone, to wrap in mystery these s.e.x questions, the little ones will not forget but will ponder and worry over them, and seek to obtain certain knowledge from others who oftentimes tell too much or too little, and such information is usually mixed with much unnecessary matter which may or may not be foreign to this particular subject. On the other hand, if we frankly and honestly answer the question at hand, curiosity is avoided and the child feels he understands it all.
The subject drops into the background of his mind--into the marginal consciousness--with the countless other facts he has acc.u.mulated. A sense of "knowledge possession" is as comfortable to the child as it is to the adult.
TRUSTING YOUR CHILD
Often the question arises: "Will they tell to other children this newly found knowledge?" If the wise mother makes them feel they are a part of a "family," and reminds them that such matters as the secrets about Santa Claus, the stork, and the baby nest are only discussed in "family groups," they are often seized with the normal pride which accompanies confidence, and often keep secrets as well or even better than do most adults.
One day a little man, three-and-a-half years old, was posing for a photograph. The photographer said: "My little fellow, you pose well.
We"ve had such a good time together. Where did they get such a lad as you?"
The mother"s heart stood still. From her hiding place behind a large curtain at the back of the studio, she listened, wondering what would be his answer.
At first he hesitated, but after a moment"s pause, said: "Really, Mr.
W. if you don"t know I feel sorry for you, and I"d really like to tell you, but I can"t, it"s a secret between me and my mamma."
Children enjoy secrets. If possible, isolate a group of subjects that are not to be discussed with playmates, such as Santa Claus facts, the stork story, and the baby story; often the very isolation of one single fact stands out so big in the child"s mind that he is many times tempted to mention it, when, if it were a.s.sociated with a whole group of "family secrets" he would seldom be led to talk about it. As we have said, children can keep secrets much better than most adults; and just suppose they _should_ tell something--what harm? With twenty-five false stories in the neighborhood, suppose one story of truth should escape! No particular harm would result; but I find they keep these secrets well.
Numerous questions will arise which should be met with open frankness.
No blush, no shame, should even suggest itself, for we are dealing with a wonderful truth, so let us give out our answers with clean hearts and pure minds. The Great Father will bless us and surround our loved "flock" with a garment of confidence in mother and father that will protect from much of the evil which is in the world, and, eventually, our little ones will grow into men and women whose very life of purity will cast its influence into the social circle. Only the company of the good and the true and the pure will be sought when a.s.sociating with the opposite s.e.x; while, in the end, better mothers and better fathers will be developed for the work of the next generation.
TEN POSSIBLE CAUSES OF SECRET VICE
1. The attention of the little folks is often drawn to the s.e.xual organs by a sensation of itching which accompanies a state of uncleanliness and filth. The genitals must be kept scrupulously clean.
Elsewhere in this book we paid our respects to the rubber diaper, and we wish to reiterate at this time that it is in all probability responsible for a great deal of masturbation. The constant moisture and heat keeps the genital organs in a state of congestion which is more or less accompanied by itching sensations.
2. A long or tight foreskin in the male child favors the acc.u.mulation of secretions which not only occasion itching sensations but oftentimes are the cause of convulsions in early infancy. In the case of the female, a tight foreskin over the c.l.i.toris will retain secretions which also cause an itching sensation.
3. Unscrupulous nurses sometimes actually teach these little fellows to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e.
4. Lying in bed on the back with a full bladder, in the case of the boy, often produces an erection of the p.e.n.i.s, and this is usually accompanied by a feeling of fullness which serves to direct the mind to the genital organs.
5. Lying in bed alone with nothing to do but to investigate often results in secret vice.
6. The unwise practice of allowing children to visit each other over night and sleep together, is often productive of mischief.
7. Constantly telling a little girl to keep her feet down, to keep her dress down, makes her over conscious of s.e.x and otherwise causes the attention to be directed in unhealthy channels.
8. Teasing a child unnecessarily about a little sweetheart often produces an emotional reaction which is not altogether desirable.
These suggestions are especially bad in the older children.