PRACTICAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
=When should parents begin telling a child of his origin?=--When a child
asks about his origin he is old enough to be told the first story. Some
children will ask about this by the time they are three or four years
old, others not until they are five or six. A normally developing child
will certainly become interested in this matter by the sixth year. If a
child has not asked about his origin by the time he is six, it would be
wise for the parents to ascertain by questioning him whether he has
received this information elsewhere.
=If they find he has gained this information from the vicious, what
should they do?=--I would suggest that they wisely, tactfully and kindly
ask him to tell them all he has heard, promising him that they will tell
him the real truth in a number of very interesting stories. If he has
received only very limited information, I would tell him at once the
story of the plants and promise him another story in a few days or weeks
about the oysters. If he has received considerable information in
half-truth and learned several vulgar expressions, I would tell him
these stories of life, one at the time and one each day until I had
covered all the half-truths he had learned. I would endeavor skillfully
to impress him with the sacredness of the laws of life. I would try to
induce him to discard every false name he has learned by giving him the
chaste pure names. I would teach him that we should be modest and
discreet regarding these organs, and when and how to speak of them; that
we should carefully avoid entertaining the idea they are in themselves
sinful or that they are our shame and humiliation; that these organs and
their functions are sacred, delicate and pure; and that they are our
pride and our glory.
If this advice were universally followed by teachers, ministers and
parents among all children over ten, youths and adults, it would
immediately reform and purify society.
“=If a child, especially a boy, is not fully satisfied with the
information contained in these stories, and should ask for a more
detailed explanation of the child’s origin, how would you answer
him?=”--I would first try to decide whether the child is prompted by
natural or morbid curiosity. If the child is sincere, very bright and
inquisitive, you will have a very pleasant task and one that should
result in only good to the child. I would start with the plant and show
just how the two natures reach each other in the seed. Then I would
pass in my detailed explanation to the oyster and fish. I would call his
attention to the real visible examples of mating among the insects,
birds, and domestic animals. I would call his attention to the father
and mother of insects and birds as they build their cells and nests to
receive their eggs when laid. I would call attention to the fact that
food is stored up in the egg or cell for the young before and after it
is hatched. I would call his attention to the fact that among the
animals where the young is born alive, that the mother furnishes the
young with food before it is born. If the child has witnessed the mating
of the birds and domestic animals and this is explained to him in
detail, the necessity for a detailed discussion of human mating will be
avoided. The child could be informed that human mating is practically
the same.
If the child is prompted by morbid curiosity, the task is a more
difficult one, the ideal results are not so certain, but the above
method is the only one that can be safely followed.
=To be able to give sex and social purity truths effectively to children
and youths, what qualifications should parents and teachers have?=--They
should have tact or skill. It is possible to approach them in such a way
as to do great harm. This qualification comes to one as a result of
careful study of these subjects, the consciousness of personal
responsibility and a realization of the child’s need of being
safeguarded by a clear knowledge of the truth. (2) They should be able
to discard all words and phrases they learned from the ignorant on the
street and playground. They should be able to use a chaste, simple,
scientific sex vocabulary. (3) They should be free from all mental and
moral taint. No one can tell or willingly listen to a lascivious joke
and then be able to tell effectively a child of his origin, the
functions of his sexual system and his temptations and dangers in
connection with them.
“=Would it be safe for all parents and teachers to give sex information
to children?=”--It would, if all possessed the qualifications mentioned.
A thief is not the proper person to teach honesty to a child. A liar is
not the proper person to teach truth. A tobacco-using father is not the
one to teach his boy not to use cigarettes. A swearing man is not
qualified to teach his boy not to swear. Occasionally a child is saved
from one or more of these vices by becoming utterly disgusted with the
vice in his father. The child is an imitator. The child is quick to
detect the difference between teaching and practice. One must practice
what he teaches, if he expects his child or pupil to accept and follow
his teaching.
=If parents and teachers do not possess these qualifications, what
should they do?=--It is their duty to prepare themselves for this
service. Under present social conditions, they are not qualified to be
at the head of a family, or to teach children unless they have these
qualifications. Those who have these responsibilities upon them and feel
that they cannot at present effectively perform these duties can secure
the services of others or they can place in the hands of a child or
youth a safe and interesting book containing what the child needs to
know.
=If a child is told these delicate truths will he not tell other children
about them?=--That will depend upon the nature of the child, the way he
has been trained and the tact used in telling the story of life. Some
children have inherited a gossipy nature and some have been
unfortunately trained. They would. But most children would not seek to
inform other children; they would not seek this information from the
vicious when they know they could obtain the truth from parents and
teachers.
THIRD DIVISION
HOW TO TEACH SOCIAL PURITY AND SEX TRUTHS TO A GIRL