Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1944)

My Commandments for My Children ( Continued from page 45) THEY must make up their minds. Shortly ■ before Donnie’s last birthday, his mother and I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate the occasion, and what he wanted for a gift. He said he would like to go to my broadcast and to Lucey’s for dinner, afterwards. That was fine. That was definite. But when it came to specifying a gift, he didn’t know, thought of something he wanted, changed his mind, was wishywashy about the whole thing. Well, he went to the broadcast and we took him to Lucey’s for dinner. But he didn’t get a birthday present. “Awfully sorry, ’Meche,” I said, “but you couldn’t make up your mind.” I can’t think of anything more devitalizing or more downright demoralizing than an inability to decide what you want to do or to have or to be. We insist that the two older boys do their own shopping, choose their suits and hats and ties, make their own selections from a menu when we eat out, decide what they want to do with their Saturdays and other holidays When they ask us, as they sometimes do, “Which shall I buy, Daddy?” or “Do you think this baseball is better than that?” My answer is always the same: “Make up your own mind. It’s something no one can do for you.” Perhaps this will make it simpler for them, in later life, to decide on jobs and friends and sweethearts. T HEY must have secrets from us. Yes, I ' mean it. I mean that I hope they have, and will continue to have, a few secrets from their mother and me. For every individual, of every age, should have his inner self, his little and strictly private world into which he can retreat; the still places in his heart and mind which no one, neither wife nor husband, nor mother nor father has the right to enter. People without reserves remind me of minnows swimming on the surface of a shallow pool. THEY must not have too many possessions. For surfeit dulls the bright edge of delight in material things. Each one of the children has what he really wants and really uses. But their nursery is not an overcrowded shopwindow for toys. And they must be serious about what they want. When, recently, Ronnie asked me to buy him a trumpet to take to school, I said, “Do you intend to learn to play it, and well? If so, you may have it. Otherwise . . .” And when Donnie lost a new baseball glove in the pool, forgot it until the next day and then retrieved it, sodden and useless, I said, “Sorry, I paid a lot of money for that. If you want a new glove, you’ll have to do extra work to earn enough money to get one.” Once or twice a year, Honore insists that the boys go through their cupboards and pick out some toys to give away. Nor does she allow them to take only the things of which they have tired. They must each take something that hurts a little to part with. Then she piles boys and toys into the station wagon and drives them to the nearest orphanage. THERE must be no commotion. The boys * know that, where their routine is concerned, they must be punctual and quiet. Their meals are served at certain hours and without ado they must be washed and brushed and ready for them. And they must eat what is set before them. There are no arguments. There is no choice. They know when it is time to take their naps and their baths and their vitamins and are expected to take them, without protest. They know the hour of bedtime Brings Out Natural Highlights With Remarkably Beautifying 10-Minute "Glamour Bath” Are you disappointed about the appearance of your hair lately? Is it lifeless looking? Dull, with no glossy sheen? Too oily or too dry? Hard to set — won't stay in place? Then just treat those contrary locks to a glamour bath with remarkably beautifying Kreml Shampoo ! Powers Models Advised To Leaves Hair Silkier, Softer Use Only Kreml Shampoo Powers Models— a group of breathtakingly beautiful girls in New York who cause men’s hearts to pulsate— are advised to use only Kreml Shampoo to wash their hair. And lovely Powers Girls are famous for their naturally lustrous, silken-sheen hair —so perfectly coiffured! Bring Out Natural Sparkling Beauty In Your Ilair Kreml Shampoo not only thoroughly cleanses hair of dirt and loose dandruff but it brings out its natural gloss — and brilliant highlights. It leaves hair so much softer, silkier and easier to set. Kreml Shampoo never leaves any excess dull soapy film. It positively contains no harsh chemicals or caustics, Instead its beneficial oil base helps keep hair from becoming dry or brittle. Excellent for shampooing children’s hair. Get a bottle of Kreml Shampoo today from any drug or department store and glamour-bathe your hair like these gorgeous Powers Models do. Stayvln Place Longer