Some of these changes,
such as shyness and reticence, may be the cause of considerable
suffering to the girl and a perplexity to her elders, but on the whole
they are comparatively easy of comprehension, and are more likely to
elicit sympathy and kindness than blame. It is far otherwise with such
changes as unseemly laughter, rough manners, and a nameless difference
in the girl's manner when in the presence of the other sex. A girl who
is usually quiet, modest, and sensible in her behaviour may suddenly
become boisterous and self-asserting, there is a great deal of
giggling, and altogether a disagreeable transformation which too
frequently involves the girl in trouble with her mother or other
guardian, and is very frequently harshly judged by the child herself.
In proportion as self-discipline has been taught and self-control
acquired, these outward manifestations are less marked, but in the
case of the great majority of girls there are, at any rate, impulses
having their origin in the yet immature and misunderstood sex impulse
which cause the young woman herself annoyance and worry although she
is as far from understanding their origin as her elders may be. The
remedies for these troubles are various. First in order of time and in
importance comes a habit of self-control and self-discipline that
ought to be coeval with conscious life. Fathers and mothers are
themselves to blame if their girl lapses from good behaviour when they
have not inculcated ideals of obedience, duty, and self-discipline
from babyhood. It seems such a little thing to let the child have its
run of the cake-basket and the sweet-box; it is in the eyes of many
parents so unimportant whether the little one goes to bed at the
appointed time or ten minutes later; they argue that it can make no
difference to her welfare in life or to her eternal destiny whether
her obedience is prompt and cheerful or grudging and imperfect. One
might as well argue that the proper planting of a seed, its regular
watering, and the influences of sun and wind make no difference to the
life of a tree. We have to bear carefully in mind that those who sow
an act reap a habit, who sow a habit reap a character, who sow a
character reap a destiny both in this world and in that which is
eternal. It is mere selfishness, unconscious, no doubt, but none the
less fatal, when parents to suit their own convenience omit to
inculcate obedience, self-restraint, habits of order and unselfish