Mothercraft {Part I}

Alistair and I decided to head to the dollar bookstore this evening for a little browsing. We both love reading and I found the coolest book. Lately I've been thinking that the American family unit has forgotten some important basics. Some of the older foster parents that I work with seem to have something in their families that this modern era doesn't deem necessary. When I saw this book I thought perhaps I could find some pearls of wisdom in regards to family. The book is called "The Complete Book of Mothercraft: A Collection of Expert Advice for Successful Parenthood"

Prepare yourself for a time-warp as it was published in 1952. The language in itself is entertaining and I like what it says about various aspects of home life. Read with a grain of salt.

What Makes A Good Home

"A good home depends primarily on parents who have formed a going partnership. This doesn't mean that they never disagree, or even that they never quarrel. But it does mean that the parents have some sort of united front and have come to an understanding on the major principles of child rearing. If they have done this, their children will know it and will take the minor disagreements in their stride. A child's sense of security is based on the feelings of people around him far more than on his parent's financial condition or the material things they give him.

Parents don't have to be perfect. Nobody should expect them always to be controlled and calm; parents need to blow off steam occasionally. If it doesn't happen too often it may clear the atmosphere all round. If one hold's to a fairly consistent course, their children will weather the minor upsets."

Children Need Two Parents

"To children, Father and Mother represent everything that is manly and womanly. They tend to model themselves after their parents; when they're young their dearest wish is that some day they may be like them. If one or the other parent is missing from the home, this vision becomes blurred, and the child's conception of what a man or woman should be like tends to be confused. A serious breach between parents, with or without separation, is always a threat to a child. He is tempted to use one against the other for his own interests, or is torn with doubt as to whose side he should be on. If he sees his parents permanently angry and hateful toward each other, it's harder for him to master his own anger and his own aggressive impulses. The rock on which his house is built is no longer a rock, but something unsure and shaky."

Hmmm... interesting.