Part 6

If the pictures are negative in influence, or those suggested by wrong companions and vulgar thoughts, the result will show itself sometime in the future. The life will sooner or later reproduce these pictures in personal character and action.

Pictures which are objectionable can be replaced, or covered over by attractive ones, which will be helpful and lead Thought into right paths and create Desire that will be a future blessing. Remember, it is far more difficult to replace a negative picture than to paint a helpful one before the other has made its impression. It is very important that you place your picture first.

Imagination is the architect and his plans are hung upon the walls of this picture gallery, where other faculties use them for building the character and personality of the child. His future circumstances, success, or failure, will be the result of this law of nature. The contents of this picture gallery are great and powerful causes which help bring about the desired result.

If this truth can be sufficiently impressed upon the mind of parent and child, both will co-operate in an effort to hang the right kind of pictures in the gallery and the result will be a finer and more successful life.

Every parent should make it a duty to hang in this gallery beautiful pictures of all the ideals which they wish to see fulfilled by their child. Besides the ideals of growth, character, purity, etc., there should be such pictures as a home; a life of useful service; financial independence, and a happy old age. The details are a matter of individual choice and should be filled in as the years pass by the growing understanding and ambition of the child.

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION

Everything that the child experiences exerts an influence upon his future. It suggests a tendency to thought or action. Once the thought or act is indulged in, it has started the formation of habit. One act will not create a habit, but one act will tend to induce the child to act again in the same manner rather than go contrary to it or to vary the method. Repeated action forms a habit, for habit is defined as a tendency of the mind to do again what it has done before.

Habits, of course, vary in their strength, but you must realize the importance of the fact that the first repetitions are the important factors, because they are the habit's beginning. If the child's tendency is wrong do not delay changing it. Tomorrow may be too late. There is no certain age at which child training should begin. It is never too soon. The earlier you begin the easier it will be, and the more pleasure and satisfaction you will derive from your children.

The story is told of an anxious parent who went with a six-year child to the Bishop. The mother told at great length of the difficulty she was having with the child and asked what the proper age was to begin training him. The Bishop's reply was: "My dear woman, you are six years late."

Parents who procrastinate or delay correcting wrong tendencies and instilling right ones because "the child is too young to know better," or "it's too soon to train him yet," will awaken to find that they have formed a wrong habit and that the child will soon be trying to train and rule them.

There is no method of child training as helpful as that of Suggestion. Inducing the child by directly spoken words to think and believe that he is, and that he does, what you wish him to be and to do. This is known as Direct Suggestion. This is the most difficult form to use, as it may arouse antagonism, in which case no favorable result will be secured. It is better to postpone the use of Direct Suggestion until some time when you can sit down quietly and talk to the child, holding him in your lap and first preparing his mind by story or quiet talk of positive and constructive nature. Then make the Direct Suggestion in a clear, definite statement. Do not stop to argue or to impress the suggestion by moralizing. Prepare the soil of the child's mind, plant the seed (the Direct Suggestion), cover it over and leave it to germinate there. You do this by once clearly stating the ideal and then passing on to some other talk or story. Do not allow the child to argue the statement of the Suggestion. This is fatal to its germination. Have him in a passive mood in which he is listening to all that you say, and after you have given the Direct Suggestion and planted the seed, pass on to something else before he starts a train of contrary thoughts in his mind.

If he resists and denies your statement before you can lead his mind on, the soil was not properly prepared. Do not be discouraged, try again. Never be discouraged or give up, if you expect to gain results by the use of Suggestion.

After you have succeeded in planting this seed-thought in the child's mind, cultivate it. Do not neglect it, but return to it and emphasize the thought at another time, and gradually induce him to think of it in a positive manner. Tell an imaginary story which depicts the positive side of your seed-thought, and let him know it is of him you are thinking.

Always be positive--never negative. Always state the thing you want as it =now= is. Make it present tense--not even future. In suggestion there is no place for don't, can't or any other negative statement. Do not refer to the negative condition which you are striving to overcome. Do not say, "Your headache is better." Leave out the headache and say only, "You are better." A transitory term as--is becoming, or a future term as--you will be, or a questionable effort as--try to do, should not be used. Make your statement always positive, present tense, and completed. As for example: "This is mama's big, strong boy." "My boy always tells the truth." "My boy is strong and he is always kind." "John is a gentleman, he is kind to his sister." "Sarah loves her kitty and is kind and gentle with it."

The story of the Scotch wife will illustrate the effect of making negative statements. The husband was starting off on Saturday night to the village. John had a weakness, and knowing this the wife stood on the doorstep calling after him, "John, don't go near the saloon." "John, don't go near the saloon." "John, don't go near the saloon." With the best of intentions she kept repeating this as long as she could make him hear. John needed help, but if you will stop to think a moment you will see that the wife had continuously impressed upon his mind "the saloon," and, true to her fears, John returned home at a very late hour and in a sad condition.

Suggestion to be of value must get beyond the critical and analytical activity of the conscious mind and become placed in the sub-conscious. If the conscious mind denies the statement, either audibly or to itself, the sub-conscious is not influenced. The most profitable time to plant these positive seed-thoughts is just before the child "drops off to sleep."

The sub-conscious mind, which is influenced by the suggestion, never rests. It is the mind which controls the breathing, heart beat and other "sub-conscious action" of the body. It is working all the night through. If you fall asleep thinking in happy anticipation of some pleasure tomorrow you will awaken in the same happy, buoyant condition of mind. Often you have to think a moment to ascertain the reason for your happy mental condition, then you remember, "This is the day of the picnic." This shows how the sub-conscious has retained all through the night the thought which was placed there just before the conscious mind sleeps.

Take advantage of this fact and strive to place a positive, constructive thought upon the sub-conscious mind of your child just before sleep. It will be held and built into character and physical development all through the night.

Indirect Suggestion

This method is usually most effective because it is applied at times and in a manner which tends to overcome any tendency to negative influence of the conscious mind. All have seen the pitifully bashful child whose mother takes every opportunity to tell the visitors, =in the child's hearing=, how bashful she is. To the child she says: "My, you are the most bashful child I ever saw." The former statement made to the visitor, is a negative indirect suggestion; the latter, the statement to the child, is negative Direct Suggestion. Both of these tend to increase the child's bashfulness. They will never overcome it.

Indirect Positive Suggestions

Two parents are sitting in a living room talking; the child is playing in the next room, or even on the floor of this one. Without paying any attention and with the apparent intention of the child not hearing, the mother, in an undertone, says to the father: "Have you noticed how improved Sarah is of late; she is kind and thoughtful of her kitty, she loves it more and is so kind and gentle with it?" Father replies: "Isn't that nice; she is a dear, kind, gentle child." The parents go on talking about other things not noticing the little girl.

If you were where you could observe you would see the child stop her play at the mention of her name, listening intently, and thinking about what has been said. Most likely she would find her kitty and come back loving it and demonstrating the result of mother's suggestion.

This indirect method of sowing seed-thoughts is most effective, and will correct errors and form right habits and character, much more rapidly than correction, argument, or punishment. The possibilities of the use of suggestions in child training are limitless. There are many cases where miraculous results have been secured by intelligent, devoted mothers.

In the matter of health and overcoming of detrimental habits there is no greater power than that of positive Suggestion intelligently used. Every up-to-date and thoroughly progressive physician realizes the power of the positive thought over the human body. During the epidemic of Influenza which swept through the Army Camps where the boys were being trained for overseas service, all the available ministers were called into a large hospital to minister to the sick and dying. Before being allowed to go among the sick soldiers they were gathered together and given a talk by one of the head surgeons. One of the instructions was this: In all talking with the sick there must not, under any circumstances, be any mention or reference to death, the possibility of death, or of any condition after death. Every thought and word must be of health, recovery and what they are going to do after recovery. This must be followed in conversation, letter writing for the sick, and in prayer with them. This is an example of the modern acceptance of the value of positive suggestion in cases of sickness.

In matters of Child Training it is of the utmost value. Dr. Stanley Krebbs, in his book, "The Law of Suggestion," which every parent should read, tells many interesting examples of its use. "A little girl had formed the habit of telling lies in order to attract attention. When this fact was learned it was made the key of her recovery. It was lodged in her mind that her lies caused people to avoid her, to dislike her; but that if she were truthful she would make people like her, would make friends and attract a great deal more attention than in any other way. Simple! but successful."

Quoting again from Dr. Krebbs, "Take an extreme case, Belford Russell Lawrence, the boy criminal, testified at twelve years of age, that among other things, his mother had often said to neighbors, referring to him: 'That devil will hang yet.'

"As a general rule children are what their elders expect them to be.

"As a general rule we adults are what our fellows expect us to be."

The story is told of a boy who was no student and hated school, he even disliked to read. One time when there were guests at dinner there arose a discussion of a certain point of history. The boy had just studied this fact in school and was able to set the entire group right. On several occasions later his mother repeated this fact to friends, in the boy's hearing, always ending with the statement: "You know Johnny is quite a historian." Up to that time he had had no interest in the study, but believing that others considered him an authority on the subject he got busy and studied up on it. He afterward became a historian and a professor in one of the large universities. He just had to make good, to keep up with his mother's expectation, and he did.

Take every opportunity to tell others about the good points of your children and the characteristics that you want them to have. Do this when the children can hear you. Tell it to others and the child will not disappoint you.

The subject should be studied by every parent. There is no attempt made to cover it in these pages, but merely to give a hint of its possibilities in the hope that the parent will learn to use this power constructively and wisely.

HEALTH HABITS

Habits are a great part of life. The forming of proper ones should have more attention than is usually given to them. Habits is a tendency of mind to do that which it has done before. When considered in this simple way habit becomes one of the great forces in our lives. It is by taking advantage of this fact that we are able to develop rapidity and efficiency in movement. This shows itself in playing games or musical instruments and in later life in the operation of machines in office and factory.

Every child begins to form habits with his first actions. He has his individual way of dressing, which is simply the result of having repeated this method several times. Each repetition adds to the strength of the habit.

To correct a habit it will be necessary for you to suggest a new method and see to it that it is repeated a sufficient number of times to become the stronger tendency. No habit is or can be formed without the element of repetition.

Realizing that children are forming habits which will follow them through life should suggest to the parent the importance of consciously guiding the child in their formation. Do not allow careless, inefficient, dawdling methods to become fixed. Of course, these may in later years be changed to more efficient methods by the child himself, but it will be at the expense of considerable effort and loss of time. On the other hand, many children will not correct the habits and will be handicapped by them all through life.

There are certain simple regulations of health that are of vital importance to the life success of every one and the parent should attend to their becoming habits while the child is small.

Mental efficiency and accuracy are quickly influenced by bodily conditions. Poor health or physical inability are never accompanied with 100% mental efficiency. You may at once think of some examples of men of high mental caliber who were deficient and handicapped by physical disability. This is sometimes the case, but it is an exception, and an illustration of success won, in spite of difficulty. Think of what such an indomitable spirit could have accomplished in a more perfect physical body.

Deep Breathing

One of the strong influences on health is that of purifying the blood in the lungs. Plenty of fresh air is necessary for this purifying, and insufficient or impure air supply in the lungs will send the blood back to the heart only partially cleansed.

Teach the child to stand erect, to consider his position when sitting, and at all times to demand fresh air. Do not be afraid of an open window, always have good ventilation, especially in sleeping rooms. Give the child a simple exercise for deep breathing and help him to use it until he has formed the habit of taking several deep breaths of fresh air immediately upon arising in the morning; each time he goes out of a building into the open air; and many times during the day. Singing, running, skipping, jumping rope, etc., are all good exercises to stimulate deep breathing. See to it that the child breathes through the nose.

Drinking Water

Many chronic troubles result from the simple neglect to supply the body with sufficient water. An average grown person should have two quarts of water a day and more in warmer weather. The lack of any habitual time for drinking this water usually results in not getting it at all. Continued disregard of the craving of the body for water, because "it is not convenient to get it" at the time, will result in the cessation of this natural demand. Many persons have said, "I don't require that much water; I never drink but a glass or two." Inquiry will reveal the fact that these persons are usually sufferers from constipation or some other chronic trouble. Drinking a proper amount of water will cure many cases of constipation.

To be sure that the child gets sufficient water adopt some systematic time for drinking. A glass before meals is beneficial to digestion. It stimulates the flow of the digestive juices. Drinking during meals is not injurious under one condition, that is that no water is taken while you have any food in the mouth. Clear the mouth of food and then drink, do not wash your food down. Be careful not to take cold water soon after eating hot food, there is danger of cracking the enamel of the teeth. A habit should be formed of drinking a glass of water when washing in the morning; wash the stomach as well as the face and hands.

An average meal requires moisture equal to about five glasses. This is drawn from the system if not supplied with the meal. A glass of water before and one after each meal is an aid to digestion rather than a detriment. Make this a habit. It is a convenient time to furnish the amount of water required by the body, and more than the two glasses is better than less.

If the child is troubled with constipation or an approach to it see to it that he gets a copious supply of water and you will find the trouble relieved.

Rest and Sleep

As long as you can continue the practice do not allow the children to get "too old" for an afternoon rest. Even if he can not sleep, to lie down and relax will be of very definite value to health and bodily resistance of disease. If you are encouraging the cultivation of "the silence" and periods of constructive thought this can be combined with the rest period.

Rest and relaxation should be synonymous. To be able to relax thoroughly is of great value in the strenuous years of later life and should be cultivated and become habitual when young. In order that the child's sleep shall be of utmost value teach him to practice relaxation upon lying down and always doing so before falling asleep. This, coupled with a positive mental attitude, will make his sleep most profitable.

Never allow the child to go to sleep in anger or fright. Take time to change all negative mental conditions to positive ones before you leave him. Unless unavoidable he should not be punished before retiring. The mental attitude in which he falls asleep will continue through the night. Experiments have proven that fear, worry, hate, etc., produce an actual poison in the blood and it affects the bodily condition, of course. Blood taken from a man while in a fit of anger and injected into a rabbit will kill the rabbit almost immediately. These facts are not new but they need to be taken more into consideration in training children.

Thinking Health

There is no doubt in anyone's mind in these days that conditions of mind influence conditions of the body. Positive and constructive thinking will aid health. Your study of the subject of suggestion shows this to be true and the results are beyond doubt.

In cases of sickness suggestion will be found of great help. To suggest that the child will be "better in the morning"; to suggest that he "is better, he looks better, he acts better," etc. All these positive thoughts are helpful. This is a deep subject and parents should give it some careful thought and investigation.

In cases of epidemics do not allow the child to think that he must be taken by it. Suggest the opposite and induce him to think that he is not going to be sick, this mixed with a generous amount of common sense in general health conditions and reasonable caution will prove helpful to say the least.

All of these subjects together with those of foods and right eating, which are very important, have been thoroughly covered by many experts and should have the careful attention of parents. Use the best methods possible to improve the child's physical condition, which will in turn increase his mental efficiency.

Unusual conditions of mind or body which are not understood by the parent should not be allowed to "drift along" or to see if "they may not be outgrown." Seek the advice of a reputable physician and save the possibility of regret.

That, "A stitch in time saves nine" is doubly true of a child's health.

Ambition Pulls

From his earliest years your child is shaping his career. What he does today wields a strong influence on what he will do tomorrow. The sooner you realize this the better his chances of final success.

Ambition is a great impelling force, encourage its development in your children. With strong ambition they can get farther than with greater ability but lacking in ambition.

A boy sat on a fence holding a kite but not watching it as boys usually do. A gentleman, in passing, was attracted to the boy and noticed that he was blind. This aroused his curiosity as to what pleasure a blind boy could get flying a kite, so he asked him: "Do you enjoy flying the kite?" "Yes, sir," was the prompt reply. "But you cannot see it." "No, sir; but say, mister, I can feel 'er pull."

So is ambition, you can't see it, but "you can feel 'er pull."

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

Italicized words are surrounded with underscores: _italics_ Emboldened words are surrounded with equals signs: =bold=

There are inconsistencies in the Table of Contents regarding chapters and sections. The Table of Contents is presented as it appears in the original.

Obvious spelling and punctuation errors have been standardized.