art of the acquisition
of the art of standing upright and walking forward. Dealing with such an
occasion one may well say to himself or herself, "This is my chance to
guide, to make this experience a light that shines forward on the way
for the child's weak feet and to strengthen him to walk in it." For is
it not true with us that practically all we really know has come by the
organizing of our different experiences? Think whether it is so or not.
And is it not to be the same with the child?

We can study here only a few typical moral crises, perhaps those that
give greatest perplexity to parents. They cannot be successfully met as
isolated instances, but must be seen as a part of the whole educational
process. Those to whom the development of character is a reality will
watch tendencies and train them before they focalize in crises.

Sec. 2. THE COLLISION OF WILLS

Parenthood presents tremendous moral strains; it is rife with
temptations. It offers a little world for autocracy to vaunt itself. The
martinets command, often totally blind to the changing nature of the
subjects as they pass from the submissive to the rebellious. One day the
parents wake up to realize that they are not the only ones possessed of
will.

When to your Yes the child says No, while you may not applaud, you ought
to rejoice; you have discovered a will, you have found developing in
your child the central and essential quality of character. Forgiveness
will be hard to find and recovery still more difficult if you make the
mistake of attempting to crush that will. The child needs it and you
will need its co-operation. The power to see the possibility of choice
of action, to know one's self as a choosing, willing entity, able to
elect and follow one among many courses of action, is a distinctive,
Godlike quality. The opposition of wills is like the birth of a new
personality, a new force thrown out into the world to meet and struggle
and adjust itself with all other persons.

When the collision comes, take a few long breaths before you move; take
time to think what it means. _Keep your temper._ Do not break before the
other will by an exhibition of chagrin that your authority is defied.
From now on the basis of any real authority is being transformed from
force and tradition to a moral plane.

Therefore, first, be sure you are right in your direction or request.
You cannot afford to make the child think that authority is more
important than