HOW TO KEEP FROM RAISING DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN?
In a study conducted several years ago, sociologists Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck of Harvard University tried to identify the crucial factors in delinquency (Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1950), pp. 257-271). They developed a test by which they could predict the future delinquency of children five or six-years-old. Their follow-up tests, four years later, provided to be ninety percent accurate. They determined that the four necessary factors to prevent delinquency are: • THE FATHER’S DISCIPLINE: Discipline must be firm, fair, and consistent. • THE MOTHER’S SUPERVISION: A mother must know where her children are and what they’re doing at all times, and be with them as much as possible. • THE FATHER AND MOTHER’S AFFECTION: Children need to see love demonstrated between the father and mother, and have it physically demonstrated to them. • THE FAMILY’S COHESIVENESS: The family must spend time together. Quite a promise — what an opportunity to ha
