al health seriously fails. To
steer a steady course which shall avoid neglecting what is dangerous
if neglected, and overemphasising what is dangerous if
over-emphasised, calls for a great deal of wisdom on the part both of
the mother and her doctor.

CHAPTER XIII

NERVOUS CHILDREN AND EDUCATION ON SEXUAL MATTERS

In this chapter I approach with diffidence a subject which is rightly
enough occupying a great deal of attention at the present time: the
instruction of our children in the nature, meaning, and purpose of
sexual processes. It is a subject filled with difficulties. Every
parent would wish to avoid offending the sense of modesty which is the
possession of every well-trained child, and finds it difficult to
escape the feeling that discussion on such matters may do more harm
than good. There is certainly some risk at the present time that,
putting reticence on one side, we may be carried too far in the
opposite direction. The evils which result from keeping children in
ignorance are well appreciated. We have yet to determine the effect
upon them of the very frank and free exposure of the subject which is
recommended by many modern writers. Nevertheless, it must be granted
that it is not right to allow the boy or girl to approach adolescence
without some knowledge of sex and the processes of reproduction. If
nothing is said on such subjects, which in the nature of things are
bound to excite a lively interest and curiosity in the minds of older
children, evil results are apt to follow. Because parents have never
mentioned these subjects to their child, they must not conclude that
he is ignorant of all knowledge concerning them. It is not unlikely
that the question has often occupied his thoughts, and that his
speculations have led him to conclusions which are, on the whole,
true, although perhaps incorrect in matters of detail. Most children,
unable to ask their mother or father direct questions upon matters
which they feel instinctively are taboo, have pieced together, from
their reading and observation, a faulty theory of sexual life. The
pursuit of such knowledge, in secret, is not a healthy occupation for
the child. His parents' silence has given him the feeling that the
unexplored land is forbidden ground. In satisfying his curiosity he is
most certainly fulfilling an uncontrollable impulse, but he has been
forced to be secretive, and to look upon the information he has
acquired as a guilty secret.