Woman May 28 1955 Page 45

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Joan Williams lends her page to Mrs. Evelyn Ford, who tells of her son's outlook on life ... it's a man's view from the start

 Give a good reason for doing something and he'll agree, even against his will

 a boy's world

 WHEN they said "It's a boy," I was neither relieved nor disappointed, for I had never minded about the sex of my babies. I was just plain startled. 

 Somehow I knew from the beginning that bringing up this boy would be quite different from bringing up the two daughters I already had. 

 My son took only a few weeks to confirm this suspicion. He was far more direct in expressing his anger when his feeds were not immediately forthcoming. He was never content to lie in his pram and gaze up at the trees or at passersby or at stray dogs, as the girls had been. 

 He clung to a milk only diet until he was nearly a year old, whereas both girls had clamoured for new and exciting things to sample from three months onward. 

 Now he is five and I can see that the differences- at least in our family-between boy and girls fall as miraculously into place as the differences between adult men and women. Until I had that boy I would never have believed it possible. 

 Taking much longer than than the girls in learning (or wanting) to talk he has shown, however, much more appreciation of logic. You can produce a complete, unanswerable, logical statement. showing why this or that should or should not be done, and you can argue this all day and all night with a girl, and "she will still be capable of finishing off with a ”yes but. . . ." 

 Not so with a boy. He may hate it, but something inside him forces him to give in to logic, even though he may bellow and roar with rage if it is something he does not want to do. 

 Wellingtons for instance. If, when he is about to plunge happily into a puddle wearing lace-ups or sandals, you point out that wellingtons are the thing for puddles, and if you give him the reason why, but only if, he will go and change. 

 Part of the reason, I think, is that to a girl, people are so very important, and emotional relationships so closely tied up with everything they do that they see more trees than wood. 

 To a boy, facts are facts and no nonsense. Whatever he is doing is the only thing of importance at the time. Later, perhaps, he will consider the people around him. 

 Whether it is mother or someone else who is helping him to put his railway together is of little importance. The only thing he sees is the railway whereas, to a girl, the whole activity may hinge on her attitude to mother, or whoever is playing or working with her.

 Another...starting thing. I found was that, although our house was full of dolls' and dolls' prams and dolls' houses and books and paints, and completely innocent of boyish things my son was completely cold towards these from the start. and instinctively gravitated towards cars, lorries, guns and trains. 
 No doubt there is something deeply psychological and significant of the man's outlook here, but I cannot quite sort out what. 
 Sufficient for me that I spend half my morning removing toy tractors and cranes smuggled into bed the night before.
 "Perhaps one of the questions that puzzles me most is why a boy will never talk when he can shout, walk when he can run, get off a chair normally when he can jump, or put something down when he can hurl it. 
 At any given time you will find my son either eating or sleeping or doing something involving intense physical effort.  Painting, bring read to or other peaceful pastimes which my girls enjoy, have no appeal for him. 
 If all outdoor activities are barred by weather, he will sprawl on the floor with, his beloved cars and lorries emitting the most amazing noises from what must surely be abnormal vocal cords, imitating the change of gears or the screech of brakes. 
 All in all, it's fun to have both boys and girls and there's no end of things to learn about all of them.

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Willie Winkie supervises Sue's second birthday check-up

Susan who is two years old now is Willie's "pride and joy. Here they're off to the clinic for a progress check.
Scales first! My, but she’s a big girl. She weighs 30 lb., two pounds more than you'd expect for a two year ole.
Now she stands straight and sturdy, making herself just as tall as she can. A whole 33 ins. That's-exactly right
You would think from Sue’s expression that the credit for each  of those sixteen white teeth belonged to her!

---------------------------------------------------       Your happy family summer

 YOU'LL want to pull out and keep the twelve page supplement of delicious fruit recipes inside the June issue of MOTHER, the Magazine of Happy Marriage.
 A real-life story in this issue tells' how a childless wife struggled against despair and helped her dream of motherhood to come true.
 This invaluable magazine is packed with features to interest every married woman: diagram sun suits for mothers and daughters, boy’s knitted shirts in three sizes, health and mothercraft features, and three complete stories. Order a copy TODAY. The June issue is on sale on Wednesday. price 1s (about 14 cents)?

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The average price of a new home then was $10950 about 2.65 times the yearly average wage of $4130. Which was about 2.17 times the price of a new car $1900. Today?