and were not suitable subjects to know about; so that her boys did
_not_ know that something unusual was in the air, or that
something special was expected of them.

The important thing for the mother to do during these growing years
is to retain the confidence of the children, and to give them an
opportunity to become acquainted with the everyday facts about
plants and animals. The questions that come to the child's mind will
be questions of motherhood and babyhood, chiefly, and not questions
of sex or fatherhood. When these questions do at last arise, as they
are sure to almost any time after twelve years, and sometimes even
before, you have a great advantage if your child brings his
questions to you instead of to his casual acquaintances of the
school or street, even if you are not prepared to answer all the
questions for him. The girl will come to her mother, and the boy
will come to his father, if they have acquired the habit of coming
with frankness and confidence. Then, if for any reason you are not
qualified to tell what needs to be told, you may just as frankly say
so and refer the child to the right instructor, who may be a teacher
or the family physician. Older children may even be sent to suitable
books. But the most desirable condition is that in which the parents
have prepared in advance to answer all the questions themselves, and
even to anticipate some questions.

[Illustration: In the country children become acquainted with the
facts of life.]

The child should receive instruction along these lines at various
stages in his development, even up to young manhood or womanhood,
corresponding to his physical development and to his mental