and mothers who
extend their social, and even their public, activities beyond the
hour at which they should be home to welcome their children on
return from school. Happy and desirable is the home where the
children burst in expectantly or full of news concerning something
that interests them!

(_c_) The third category of absentee mothers consists of those who
give their children money to go to the pictures, while they
themselves go to golf, or to a football match, or pay a visit to
friends.

When dealing with this kind of thoughtlessness it should be pointed out
that fathers are not free from blame. As breadwinners they have
necessarily to be away from home throughout the day, but they have
opportunities in the evenings and at week-ends to identify themselves
with their children's interests and activities.

A satisfactory home life can be attained only by the co-operation of
both parents in the upbringing of their children.

=(3) High Wages=

In striking contrast to the contention that the cost of living is so
high that mothers are obliged to work is the complaint that many young
people have too much money. This applies both to school children and to
boys and girls who have commenced working.

It cannot be denied that many children have too much spending money, and
that others show too great a desire to have it.

It is also a well-known fact that many children are not content to do
normal tasks at home when they are able to obtain good pocket money by
doing odd jobs for others.

The starting wage for adolescents is often somewhat high, and thrift is
not practised by them. A few years hence, these adolescents may be in
the ranks of those who complain of their inability to obtain homes. This
has prompted people to urge that a compulsory savings scheme should be
instituted to guard young people from the evils of misspent leisure and
to develop in them that sense of reliability which is so often lacking.

There is certainly something wrong when mothers work to increase the
income of the household while youths, who may be paid nearly as much as
parents with family responsibilities, spend their earnings on expensive
luxuries.

If juvenile delinquents were admitted to probation instead of being
admonished or placed under supervision, it might be practicable for the
Courts, in suitable cases to make it a condition of probation that the
offender paid a portion of his earnings into a compulsory