Should you EXPECT your children to be hateful, rebellious?
Is it merely a PHASE when children have temper tantrums, shouting defiance at their parents?
Read these SHOCKING, and UNBELIEVABLE quotations
from the real culprits behind our mounting wave of child crime!
WHAT do I do when my child screams 'I HATE You!' to me," ask distraught parents. "Nothing much," answer the child psychologists — "except perhaps sympathize with him, tell him how much you used to hate your parents when you were told to do something, and he'll soon outgrow it — he's just going through a 'phase' which he'll soon pass."
Such are the almost UNBELIEVABLE quotations you are about to read!
Today, rebellious, kicking, screaming, tantrum-throwing children are actually being ENCOURAGED to throw demoniacal RAGES at their parents, because modern child "psychology" has assured a completely gullible age this is merely a "PHASE" through which the child is passing!
The Mythical Phases of Childhood
In the last number, we saw without question where the real guilt lies for our burgeoning problem of criminality among youth, and our heinous methods of permissiveness in rearing our children. We saw teachers, law enforcement officials, and the very word of God indict the PARENTS who have swallowed the spineless teachings of Uneducated THEORISTS.
Now, we need to come to clearly see the false concepts behind the "no punishment" school of "child behaviorists."
Almost without fail, modern books available on child psychology will group children, according to various ages, into certain "PHASES" or "STAGES" of growth and development.
For a general view of these patterns, let's notice the following quotation, "Our observations of child behavior have led us to believe that almost any kind of behavior you can think of . . . develops by means of re remarkably patterned and largely predictable stages.
"Knowledge of these growth stages can help you a good deal and in a great many ways. To begin with, it can give you an idea of what to expect." (pp. 3-4, Child Behavior, Ilg & Ames).
Should You Expect Disobedience?
Let's notice the symptoms of some of these supposed "predictable stages." "The eighteen-month-old walks down a one-way street, though this one-way street can be rapidly reversed. And this street more often than not seems to lead in a direction exactly opposite to that which the adult has in mind. Asked to 'come here, dear' he either stands still or runs in the opposite direction. (He may even like to walk backwards) Ask him to put something in the wastebasket, and he is more likely to empty out what is already in it. Hold out your hand for the cup which he has just drained, he will drop it on to the floor. Give him a second sock to put on, and he will more likely than not remove the one which is already on his foot. His enjoyment of the opposite may be the reason why it works so well, if he is running away from you, to say 'bye-bye' and walk away from him. Then he may come running. "Not only does he not come when called — he seldom obeys any verbal command. 'No' is his chief word" (p. 22, Child Behavior, Ilg & Ames).
To state the "eighteen-month-old" does all these disobedient acts simply by virtue of being 18-months-old is a piteous display of idiocy!
The 18-month-old WILL do these things, ONLY if he has been left without any supervision, has never been trained, never been taught the MEANING of obedience, and has been turned out to "pasture" like any animal, rather than reared by his parents.
Let's really UNDERSTAND.
By having already carelessly ASSUMED any means of punishment or control over a child to be harmful, the child psychologists have laboriously catalogued the "behavior" patterns of children — by merely OBSERVING them.
They have, instead of TRAINING the children, seeing how positive methods of real teaching, instruction and discipline will work, merely "observed" the little children much in the same manner as watching monkeys in cages. They have busily made notes, and collected sage observations. As a result of these widespread "observations," the modern child psychologists have carefully documented certain definite PHASES in the actions of children.
Let's notice carefully, however, that these phases are merely the INEVITABLE reactions of untrained children, undisciplined children, who have been OBSERVED instead of trained! Ask a dog who has been TRAINED to "come here!" and it will OBEY! Give a horse a command when it has been TRAINED, and it will OBEY! But, assure the child behaviorists, you cannot expect such obedience from the infinitely more intelligent, far superior human mind!
My own 18-monthers, when asked to "Come here, dear!" — came here! 'When asked to put something in the wastebasket — they immediately put it in the wastebasket. When holding out my hand for the cups they had drained, they immediately gave them to me. Given a second sock, they always put it on!
Why?
Simply because they had been TAUGHT to do these things!
This entire quotation will be discussed later, revealing the really serious consequences which may be reaped by any family foolish enough to believe it. Later, the authors of this particular work, in breaking down one of the supposed "stages" through which all children are to pass (with varying differences according to their own individuality) the authors state: "Two and a half years: This is an age about which parents may need warning because so much that the child now does naturally, almost inevitably, is directly contrary to what his parents would like to have him do. The 2½ year-old is not, temperamentally, an easy, adaptable member of any social group. "The change in behavior which takes place between two and two-and-one-half can be rather overwhelming, perhaps to child as well as to the adults who surround him. Two-and-a-half is a peak age of disequilibrium. Parents often say that they can't do a thing with the child of this age. . . . First of all, two-and-a-half is rigid and inflexible. He wants exactly what he wants when he wants it. He cannot adapt, give in, wait a little while. Everything has to be done just so. Everything has to be in the right place he considers its proper place. For any domestic routine, he sets up a rigid sequence of events which must follow each other always in the same manner."
Here we are assured, the little, tiny toddling two-and-a-half-year-old human baby, who is totally carnal, entirely selfish, and yet a very sweet and lovable little reproduction of our own selves is just BOUND to act in this prescribed fashion — simply because he has reached one of the "steps" along the ladder of life — the "stage" at two-and-a-half years of age. Parents are assured this child CANNOT ADAPT! That means, if parents attempt to get him to "adapt" they may run the dire risks 'of "breaking his spirit," "giving him a complex," or any number of perfectly horrible results. Parents are assured the little two-and-a-half-year-old toddler cannot possibly "give in" or "wait awhile"! Therefore, the entire household, whether the father is a truck driver, lawyer, or the President of the United States completely revolves around, waits on, is ordered according to, adapted to, and adjusted to the CHILDISH WHIMS of a little toddling two-and-a-half-year-old baby!
Can such quotations really appear even credible? Isn't it even a little UNBELIEVABLE that adult human beings COULD POSSIBLY ADVOCATE such a heinous, monstrous, rotten, ABOMINATION in the sight of God?
What would a parent do if he had SERIOUSLY FOLLOWED these idiotic and spineless teachings in some of the following eventualities?
Suppose a little "eighteen-month-old" was toddling off the curb, into the path of rumbling, swiftly-moving traffic! IF HE IS TO BE NORMALLY EXPECTED TO "RUN THE OTHER WAY" IF YOU DARE TO COMMAND HIM TO "COME HERE!" THEN WHAT ARE YOU TO DO?
"Surround him with interesting objects" as the psychologists recommend? How? Is THERE TIME?
Do you merely accept the already quoted thought that the child simply "CANNOT WAIT A WHILE" and that he "SELDOM OBEYS ANY VERBAL COMMAND" and then resign yourself to his IMMEDIATE DEATH???
The authors continue:
"Second, he is extremely domineering and demanding. He must give the orders. He must make the decisions. If he decides, 'mummy do' daddy cannot be accepted as a substitute. . . . Two-and-a-half is an age of violent emotions. There is little modulation to the emotional life of the child at this age.
"Furthermore, it is an age of opposite extremes. . . . Total all these characteristics together and you have a child who is not easy to deal with. Vigorous, enthusiastic, energetic, the typical two-and-a-half may be. But he is not an easy person to have around the house. However, mothers will find that great patience, a real understanding of the difficulties of the age and a willingness to use endless techniques to get around rigidities and rituals and stubbornness will help get through the time till the difficult two-and-a-half turns three" (pp. 25-27, Child Behavior, Ilg & Ames).
Fantastic, isn't it? The little two-and-a-half-year-old is extremely domineering and demanding — and HE MUST GIVE THE ORDERS! HE must make the decisions for the family! If HE DECIDES, THAT HIS MOTHER. SHOULD PERFORM SOME TASK FOR HIM, he will not accept "daddy" as a substitute! Thus, gullible parents are assured that these characteristics of a two-and-a-half-year-old child are just as sure, just as irrevocable as an approaching cold front out of the North! There is nothing they can do about it — it just Is "that way"!
These empty theories are simply untrue.
To promote the concept that the "domineering and demanding," "order giving," "extremist," "impossible to deal with," "vigorous, enthusiastic, energetic," "rigid," "stubborn" child of two-and-a-half will CHANGE IMMEDIATELY, and enter another phase when he is THREE is pretty poor comfort to a frustrated, worried, apprehensive, beleaguered parent with a monstrous little REBEL he seemingly is unable to control.
Can you see? Can you really comprehend what is BEHIND this false concept? The behaviorists have merely put together the carnal, natural REBELLION in a child with his obviously increased energies, co-ordination, scope of activity, increased motor facility, longer reach, and growth in all physical capacities.
OBVIOUSLY a REBELLIOUS, UNTRAINED child of FOUR will be getting into even MORE trouble than a rebellious child of ONE and ONE HALF! OBVIOUSLY the eighteen-month-old, who is already REBELLIOUS, and has not had that rebellion driven from him, and who has NOW LEARNED TO RUN, will run from his parents' commands! The child psychologists can very SAFELY predict these "behavior patterns" in untrained, rebellious, resentful, hostile, MONSTROUS little children who have never really known any authority!
Yes, let's really look at what we've read — let's really get PRACTICAL with it, and ask some truly basic questions. Isn't it pretty poor comfort to tell a parent with the little two-and-a-half-year-old already described that he should be willing to use "endless techniques" and develop "understanding" to help him survive the time until his little 2 ½ year-old turns three?
Apparently, my own children were so ignorant of these "stages" through which they have been growing they forgot to express the characteristics that these "stages" should have demanded of them! At any rate, our children, at the "stage" of "two-and-a-half" never were domineering and demanding — they never tried to give orders — they never made the decisions — they ° were never given to temper tantrums — they were decidedly flexible and not at all RIGID. They were able to adapt to anything, they were able to give in constantly — in fact, several times a day, and they were able to wait — even days or months should that have been necessary! But more of this later.
The child psychologists, whom J. Edgar Hoover says, "have substituted indulgence for discipline"! All seem to concur on the general unruliness, balkiness, temper tantrums and explosiveness that supposedly accompany the child of from 1½ to three years of age! But behind it all is one of the most important miscalculations of the modern school of child training.