An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.
“Train up a child the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart.”
The most disturbing element of modern society is the behavior of our young people. The behavior has been summed up by some people in terms of juvenile delinquency. This label has been attached to those whose unconformed, unapproved, and reckless behavior has caused headaches for many people. Sometimes life seems almost hopeless as a parent sits down to ponder over a child who has suddenly adopted the Epicurean outlook as his outlook of life.
In his adolescent mind, eating, drinking, and being merry are the basic concerns of life. Sometimes, after he has been maimed for life, critically injured, or killed, the full realization of the purpose of life comes into being.
“MAIN TRACK” AFFAIR
Life is a “main track” affair. How, then, do you account for so many people getting off on the various side tracks? Maybe we would like to say that it is a matter of appetites, maybe it is a matter of what modern psychologists have labeled urges, or even yet, one may see it in terms of weakness.
But whatever you might accept as your solution, something else is the underlying factor for the current conditions of our young people. The rising tide of immorality, intoxication, sexual abuse, and the like must be halted.
Only a few evenings ago, one of our local papers carried an article charging the parents with the fault of many of the disorders that have arisen in our juvenile society. Looking at it hurriedly, this is a miserable indictment against our parents. But whatever we may think of it, it is TRUE.
Far too many of our parents today are attempting to rear children by some far-fetched long distance method. The parent does not concern himself with the basic things in the child’s life. The modern child is sent to Sunday School, he is sent to school during the week, and he is left to pick his own associates without any supervision by the parent. The modern parent needs to know who is teaching his child in Sunday School, who is teaching his child from 9 each morning til 3:30, and he needs to know who the child has chosen for a buddy. All of these things will add much to the overall picture of child development and outlook on life.
WORLD OF CRISES
We live in a world of many crises: listen to your radio and the announcer will tell you that “we are on the brink of war,” watch your television and you will see horrible pictures of what has happened to other people, read your newspapers and you are brought face to face with some of the most disheartening things of which this world could ever dream.
What are all of these saying to us? Just this. If you read your Bible, you won’t go very far before you run into this phrase: “While my servant was busy with many things …” Many of us are busy with many things. The most essential are left undone. Ask any young girl today what she wants to be when she grows up and immediately she will tell you that she wants to be “a career woman.” Why a career woman? Only because she doesn’t want to accept the responsibilities associated with rearing a family.
LIKE FIELD WEEDS
This today has become too much of a bore; it deprives our modern young woman of too much of her long wanted freedom. She wants to be able to go when and where she wants to, stay as long as she wants to, and come back when she gets ready. Unfortunately, many of our mothers have this same idea. Children in such homes are left unattended and they grow as weeds in the fields. It is quite unfortunate for the child but even worse for the parent who has a God-given responsibility to properly rear the child.
As a result of all of this, we have young people, who look at the world through rose-colored or some other gay-colored glasses, awaken to find their glasses removed only to see life as it actually is.
As parents, we are the ones to so fortify the children that when such a day comes, they will have the proper moral, social, spiritual, and intellectual fiber that will enable them to stand. I dare say if each parent would move toward that goal – starting today – our young people would be ample reason for all of us rejoicing ten or fifteen years from now.
“Train up a child the way he should go and when he is old he ill not depart.” He will be reason for joy and happiness to all of us.
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Obviously, my father was a product of the times. Women weren’t supposed to want a career – and the idea of a career and family for women simply didn’t occur to many folks. (Of course, it was OK for men to have both.)
Women have always worked. Prior to industrialization, they worked side-by-side with their husbands on the farm or in the shop. The thing was, those jobs did not take one away from the children. In fact, the children grew up in the business — even a two-year-old can gather eggs, pick tomatoes, and bring dad a tool. In the era of industrialization, women worked in sweat-shops making clothes, and men worked in more strength-intensive work.
The trouble is, industrial (and office) jobs are generally outside-the-home jobs. As such, both spouses can’t have both a job and a family, unless both are working part-time, and part-time work tends not to pay well or provide benefits.
Your father was indeed a product of his time. (Aren’t we all?) In the decade before this article, the government put out the propaganda of the stay-at-home-mother ideal, with the goal of getting women out of the factories so our returning GI’s, Marines, and Sailors would have jobs to come home to.
In the past, though, multi-generation households were more common, and the grandparents raised the kids while the parents worked. Mothers’ working outside the home is not new. What is new, is Grandma retiring to Florida.
“odd” = “off”?
Yep. And I fixed another word in the opening paragraph that left out a letter.