CORVALLIS Ore. — Fear of spoiling children has become a serious hurdle to “good mothering and fathering” in recent generations, a family life authority believes.
Mrs. Katherine Read, head of the Oregon State College family life and home administration department, says the fear of spoiling children with “too much” love and attention has created a “bogeyman” for parents.
To overcome the problem, she recommends a big, “natural” dose of mother and father love.
Too many young mothers are afraid to pick up a crying child because of fear it will spoil him Mrs. Read believes.
So the mother does not respond, the infant continues to cry, and both are unhappy, Mrs. Read points out. Mothering loses some of its satisfaction in this situation.
Mrs. Read says there is no doubt a child can be spoiled. But “too much love” isn’t a basic cause, in her opinion. Lack of love may be, however, because the unsatisfied child continues to seek love and attention and becomes “demanding” or spoiled.
The spoiled child is one, too, who has been deprived of responsibilities which are rightfully his and deprived of facing consequences of his acts. For example, he is the child whose mother tried to stop his crying when he slipped and fell by pretending to “spank the naughty old chair” instead of giving him comfort for the fall and explaining how it happened. The explanation lets the child face reality and to learn to modify his behavior, Mrs. Read explains.
Taken from the Mansfield Observer. Mansfield, Ohio. May 30, 1956.
