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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 12 (March 2, 1936)

The Cult of Kindness

The Cult of Kindness.

There exists a large section of adult humanity which professes to know all there is to know—and more— about bringing up children; the best theories are usually advanced by people who have never had any. Having no children of their own, they have time and tranquility to work out theories as to how to bring up other people's. People who own children are usually so busy bringing them up that they have no time to work out theories about bringing them up.

As a matter of fact, children never have been “brought up.” Thirty years ago they were driven up. To-day they are supposed to be led up. If we lived in America we probably would ejaculate “Oh yeah!” at this point, but, being British we will content ourselves with “Jusso!” laying the emphasis on the “O,” as in “dOubt.”

For some of the known products of this “Come hither, Willie, and tell mummykins” school lead us to doubt that 'suasion beats swishin’.

Not infrequently this doubt is confirmed by an inescapable session with one of these anti-complex enormities of the “kind words” school whom we fain would lure away to some dark and fearsome wood and there play “wicked uncles” on them. Especially does this apply to those pale, large-domed examples of premature old age who exhibit, by means of foot-and-mouth and all-in tactics, their low opinion of adults in general and parents in particular; and equally does it apply to the beef-and-iron type of menace whose character has been so carefully purged of complexes that only original sin remains. This brand is an engine of destruction capable of bringing home to us that peace has it horrors as well as war.