Many Hours a Day

Prior to school, a child spends many hundreds of hours under the direct supervision of his mother. In infancy much of his time is spent in his mother’s arms. She coos, talks to, and cuddles him.

As the child grows older, he is with his mother every day while his father is at work. His mother has a tremendous influence on him. She teaches him proper habits, cleanliness, discipline. More than anyone else at that tender age, her supervision over him is of utmost importance. She sets the stage for future habits in his life.

Properly carried out, her discipline can help prepare her child for years to come. Wrong rearing makes it twice as hard for the child later on.

Children will either love and respect their mother and her authority or will come to relegate it to insignificance—or worse yet, despise it.

In later life, a daughter must have the proper example of her mother to follow. A teenage girl must learn how she is to fulfill her place in life in just a few years. “Mother” has to teach her all the basic things she will need to know.

—The Plain Truth About Child Rearing