The demeanor of a child is also a vast reflector of home training. You
cannot always teach morals by imitation, but you can the custom of
manners and social etiquette. In the primitive appetites of eating and
drinking, imitation is a very strong force. How easily a little child
will imitate the smacking of lips after some article of diet especially
enjoyed. How easily he comes to use his knife in conveying food to his
mouth, if he has seen this performance. How anxious he is to rush from
the table as soon as he has finished eating. These, and many other
breaches of good manners, I am sorry to say, come as a result of seeing
others do likewise.
It is our duty to read up on all manners and customs of etiquette. The
mother must acquaint herself with all its details; then your child will
be a credit as well as a joy to his parents.
One of the best illustrations of the power of imitation is in the way
the deaf are taught. The natural way of speaking any language is by
hearing; by trying to imitate the sounds which are made. In the case of
the deaf, they learn their expression of thought through imitation
entirely, the lips and gestures of the hands and fingers being the only
source of communication.
We have learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So
long as this imitation is of sterling value, let us all become
flatterers. Let us flatter Love, which lightens labor. Let us flatter
Care by crowning and beautifying its rugged and repellant features. Let
us all endeavor to flatter the serenity of Life by being constantly on
the outlook for the foes without and the foes within—the “little foxes
that seek to destroy the vines.”