Failure on the part of the father and mother to recognize the growth of the boy likewise tends to interfere with normal relationships in the home.  Many a father and mother fail to see and appreciate the fact that their boy really ceases to be a child.  Because of this, parents very often fail to show the proper respect for the personality of the boy, riding rough-shod over his feelings and will.  There follows in matters of this kind a natural resentment on the part of the boy which sometimes makes him moody and reticent.  This, in its turn, causes the parents to try to curb what they consider a disagreeable disposition on the part of the boy.  Sometimes this takes the form of resentment at the fact that the boy wishes at times to be alone, and so fathers and mothers are continually on the watch to prevent the boy from really having any time of his own.  All of these things put together have but one logical result, the ultimate break between the boy and the home, and the departure of the boy at the first real opportunity to strike out for himself, thus sundering all the home relationships.

Perhaps one of the saddest things in the home life today is the neglect of the father to see that his boy receives the necessary knowledge concerning sex, that his life may be safeguarded from the moral perils of the community.  This is not always a willful breach of duty on the part of the father, but usually comes from ignorance as to how to broach this subject to the boy.  A great many growing lives would be saved from moral taint and become a blessing instead of a curse if the father discharged his whole duty to his growing son, by putting at his disposal the knowledge which is necessary to an understanding of the functions of the sex life.

To recapitulate, several things are necessary to bring about real relationships in the home life between the parents and the boy.  These are:  a place for the boy in the family councils as a partner in the home life, the boy’s right to companionship with his parents, the privilege and responsibility of private ownership, the right a boy has to his personality and privacy, and tactful and timely instruction in matters of sex.  This might be enlarged by the parents’ privilege of caring for and developing social life for the boy in the home, a carefully planned participation in its working life, instructions in thrift and saving, and a general cooperation with the school and the church, as well as the auxiliary organizations with which the boy may be connected, so that the physical, social, mental and spiritual life of the boy may become well balanced and symmetrical.  Add to this the Christian example of the father and mother, as expressed in the everyday life of the home, and especially through family worship and a recognition of the Divine Being at meal time, and without any cant or undue pressure there will be produced such a wholesome home environment as to assure the boy of an intelligent appreciation of not only his father and mother, but of his home privileges in general, and of the value of real religion.