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Mind, Character, and Personality Volume 2
pleasantness and cheerfulness have been shown them; few words of
approval have been spoken to them. They have inherited the defective
characters of their parents, and the discipline of the home has been
no help in the formation of right character.—
Counsels to Parents,
Teachers, and Students, 192
(1913).
Defects Strengthen With Years—The children learn lessons that
are not easily unlearned. Whenever they are subjected to unaccustomed
restraint or required to apply themselves to hard study, they appeal to
their injudicious parents for sympathy and indulgence. Thus a spirit of
unrest and discontent is encouraged, the school as a whole suffers from
the demoralizing influence, and the teacher’s burden is rendered much
heavier. But the greatest loss is sustained by the victims of parental
mismanagement. Defects of character which a right training would
have corrected are left to strengthen with years, to mar and perhaps
destroy the usefulness of their possessor.—
The Review and Herald,
March 21, 1882
. (
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 65
.)
Indulgence Unsettles Character—In some families the wishes
of the child are law. Everything he desires is given him. Everything he
dislikes he is encouraged to dislike. These indulgences are supposed to
make the child happy, but it is these very things that make him restless,
discontented, and satisfied with nothing. Indulgence has spoiled his
appetite for plain, healthful food, for the plain, healthful use of his
[551]
time; gratification has done the work of unsettling that character for
time and for eternity.—MS 126, 1897. (
Child Guidance, 272
.)
Mind and Heart to Be Disciplined—Children who are allowed
to have their own way are not happy. The unsubdued heart has not
within itself the elements of rest and contentment. The mind and heart
must be disciplined and brought under proper restraint in order for
the character to harmonize with the wise laws that govern our being.
Restlessness and discontent are the fruits of indulgence and selfishness.
The soil of the heart, like that of a garden, will produce weeds and
brambles unless the seeds of precious flowers are planted there and
receive care and cultivation. As in visible nature, so is it with the
human soul.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:202, 203
(1876).
Habits Formed in Youth Mark the Life Course—By the
thoughts and feelings cherished in early years, every youth is de-
termining his own life history. Correct, virtuous, manly habits formed
in youth will become a part of the character and will usually mark the