King's Business - 1962-04

talking it over with Dr. Clyde M. Narramore

Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is a pschologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in the United States.

in telligence, should go through life not kn ow ing Christ as her personal Saviour, and then face eternity w ith ­ out God!

gest a trusted Christian friend, pastor, or a Christian teacher.

JEALOUS BOYFRIEND Question: / am 18 years old and am g oin g w ith a fe llow m y age. W e have b een g oin g steady fo r about tw o years. M y p roblem is that m y b o y friend depends so v ery mu ch upon his m oth­ er fo r everyth in g. H e tells h er ev e r y ­ th ing w e do on dates, she listens in on ou r teleph on e conversations, and even reads our letters. H is fam ily is affectionate and ours is not. H e exp ects m e to show m ore affection and tell h im h ow mu ch I love h im e v e r y tim e w e are ou t on a date. I f I am w ith a group o f girls and do n ot p a y m uch atten tion to him, h e gets angry, and h e w ill not stand for m e to talk to another boy. I am afraid that if w e g et married, h e w ill always g o to his m oth er about our p roblem s and that sh e w ill always b e interfering. Is th ere an yth in g I can do to h elp him , or w ould it b e better if w e broke up? Can tw o p eop le w h o are so op­ posite be happy togeth er? Answer: Th is problem is very serious and y ou are indeed w ise to seek help. The decisions you are m aking n ow are life-tim e ones. M an y couples w ish they could go back to w here you are n ow and re-evaluate their romance. F am ily interference is one o f the biggest problem s in marriage. I w ou ld advise y ou n ot to consider this youn g m an seriously at all, unless this prob­ lem is w orked ou t long b efore mar­ riage. It can cause you noth ing but trouble as lon g as y ou live. Con cern ing breaking up, I w ou ld do it in a forth righ t Christian m an­ ner. Have a mu tual understanding that y ou w ill both date others. U n ­ doubtedly, in tw o or three years, God w ill reveal H is w ill to you. In other words, give you rself time b y having a variety of dating experiences. As far as you r boy friend is con ­ cerned, encourage h im to get h elp in w ork in g th rough his problem . I sug­

EXCEPTIONAL CH ILDREN Q . A n ew g irl cam e to m y Sunday school class a few w eeks ago. She has trouble w alking as w ell as talking. H er parents told m e that she was a spastic. D oes this m ean that she also has m en ta l trouble? A. N o, spastics are not necessarily m en tally deficient. In fact, some are very bright. Some of our em inent physicians, educators and statesmen are handicapped b y spasticity. Another name fo r this condition is cerebral palsy. It is a disturbance of muscular a n d /o r sensory function, caused b y m aldevelopm en t or in ju ry to the brain. Th is maldevelopm ent or in ju ry m ay take place at birth, or even before or afterward. A m u ltiple handicap o f vision, hearing and speech m ay be present. It m ay be so slight that it is not noticed, or it m ay be extrem ely serious. There are five broad clin ica l classi­ fications of cerebral palsy: spastic, ataxic, athetoid, tremor and rigidity. T h rou gh good education and therapy program s mu ch can be done for the cerebral palsied. Studies show that if education and therapy are given con­ currently, the cerebral palsied ch ild progresses almost tw ice as fast. O f course I do not know the ch ild about w hom y ou w rite, bu t it is al­ together possible that she has average or even superior intelligence. It seems to me that you r responsibility is to teach her G od ’s W ord , just as y ou do the other children. As you becom e better acquainted w ith her and her parents, you w ill no doubt gain a better understanding of her condition. If she has n o mental im pairm ent, she can soon be led to a saving know ledge of Christ. W h a t a pity it w ou ld be if she, w ith n orm al

W H A T CAN YOU EXPECT? Question: W ou ld y o u please tell m e h ow to stop an eigh t-yea r-old b oy from su cking his thum b? A lso, tell m e what to do about his habit of waking m e tw o or three times each n igh t to tuck h im in. H e is a darling little foster child. I have had him o n ly eigh t w eeks. H e is from a bad ly-w recked h om e and has b een kicked around a lot. H e has oth er em otional problem s such as w reck in g his ow n toys or an yth in g h e can g et his hands on. I am tryin g to h elp him , bu t I fe e l so inadequate. Answer: M a y I suggest that you are expecting too m u ch from y ou r eight- year-old boy. Y ou say that he is a foster ch ild and that y ou have on ly had h im eight weeks. Y ou also state that he has been “ kicked around” and that he is from an unfortunate hom e situation. It takes a lon g time for any ch ild to gain real confidence in an adult. It requires an even lon ger tim e to gain confidence in people when your on ly experience w ith people has been unfortunate. T h is ch ild has learned through the years never to trust adults — problem parents and foster parents. G ive yourself m ore time. Be patient w ith h im and you w ill undoubtedly find that w ith in fou r or five years you w ill develop the confidence w h ich you seek so ba d ly at the pres­ ent. I have w ritten a booklet entitled: “ D iscipline in the H om e.” I am send­ ing you a copy, and I trust that it m ay be h elpfu l. NOTE : I shall be happy to send the above-m entioned booklet to all w h o w rite for it this month.

THE KING 'S BUSINESS

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