Changing times inevitably wipe out something old and bring forth something new. Men's ideas, for one, keep changing. In an agricultural society, in imperial China particularly, people raised children with the idea that the young would support the old by the time the elders could not take care of themselves. In modern China, parents take a different view. Unlike their forefathers, they think that to raise children means a continuity of lives and love, and also is their right and obligation. They seek to develop good surroundings so that their children can learn well and grow up fast. With the general knowledge of physiology, unexpected or undesired birth is rare nowadays. In an average family, babies are born as planned and are accepted with great expectations and affection. Each new life brings hard work, joy and often envy.

Being parents is never an easy role to play on this human stage. First of all, husbands and wives must act against a moral background and good setting. From pregnancy, labor pains, birth, and baby care to education, parents must show dedication with each step. Good knowledge about baby care and material support are important factors. The most intensive care must be taken from the time the baby takes solid food to the day the first school-year begins. Mothers must be very careful about choosing diets for their babies, with stress on high protein, low fat and digestibility. The daily menu should include steamed blended eggs, such meats as tender roast beef, liver, chicken, duck and fish as well as milk and fruit, in addition to indispensable nutriments like calcium tablets, cod liver oil and multi-vitamins. The result is an infant growing strong and healthy, with weight increasing year by year. But that is only one side of the story. Parents should take their infants to physical drill courses, in the hopes that they may be able to grow even stronger and more dexterous. In the meantime, the infant also may be able to develop a sense of balance and rhythm, and learn self-protection.

In nursery school, children learn through playing. The drill equipment includes gym mattresses, hand rings, balancing forms, box horses and trampolines. More gifted youngsters may take a "talent course," where their potentiality is developed by the "instinct method." They are taught to play the violin or the piano, to draw, to recite poems, to operate the abacus and to speak English. As the living standards advance, more children are becoming music lovers. The musical instruments they choose range from the piano and violin, to xylophone, flute, accordion and harmonica. Some parents even join their youngsters in singing and playing. Many kindergartens have children's orchestras and arrange shows on special occasions. In Free China, children receive pre-school education by attending kindergartens, where they can learn to sing, dance, draw and do manual work, in addition to courses like penmanship and simple mathematics. More important, they are supposed to learn there how to be modest, how to behave, how to get along with other people in a group and the meaning of person-to-person relationship.

In any Republic of China department store, children's wear and toy departments always draw many customers. Parents can obtain almost any items they desire. They have a wide choice among different fashions, colors and materials, almost everything imaginable for boys and girls. Children find a dazzling scene when visiting a toy department. In such a toyland, even grown-ups may take a moment to indulge themselves in remembering their own childhoods. In bookstores, children's departments are growing. On holidays, parents find time to take their kids on outings. They smile with pleasure watching their youngsters having a good time. In almost every family, now, the children hold the spotlight. In parks and other scenic spots, kids pose for cameras, for parents want records of their growing periods. Some day, the fathers and mothers hope, when they look at the pictures, they will think, in retrospect, "They had a very happy childhood." So they strive to give their offspring many beautiful things, to keep them free and smiling. Both parents and children of such families could be called particularly blessed by God.

It is wonderful on the trampoline

You need some brawn to work on those rings

They are learning fast and better