INTRODUCTION.

There is scarcely any subject which is of greater importance or of greater interest to parents than this subject of teaching children the truth about life and birth.

Every parent knows that at one day their little boy or girl will have matured into the possessor of the powers of procreation, yet they fail to teach the child how to care for, or how to regard these powers they possess.

Biologically speaking, these creative powers are the most important functions of the body, but they are the only functions of the human body which are utterly¹ ignored by both parents and teachers.

In order to perpetuate² the species, nature has endowed all animals with sexual instinct, and man is the only animal who is ashamed of this instinct. Man is the only animal who voluntarily limits his offspring, though he continues in his sexual relation. Man, and man alone, is the only animal who is subject to disease directly inimical to the integrity of the organs of reproduction.

2So, with this last assertion before our eyes, we parents cannot help but see that the danger signal is out. It is there and shows itself in the death list, in statistics, in the hospitals, where thousands of innocent girls and women are being operated upon. In fact, the danger signal is everywhere about us, if we could but understand what it really is.

In the public schools all over this country there is a general cry for help. Teachers are calling out for assistance to help them check the degrading and immoral³ atmosphere which is pervading⁴ the school rooms today. The words and language of the children (of all ages) found whispering together, the writings in the notes and on the walls of the buildings, all tend to show childrens’ thoughts. And in these actions the teacher sees the danger signal. She realizes this is the first awful step, and not knowing how to cope with these conditions, she calls for help.

The time comes to every mother when she first hears her child say: “When I get big and have a little girl I’ll, etc.”—showing that the natural average child takes it as a matter of course that at some future time he or she will have children, too. Shortly after this, questions are likely to begin, as when the parents speak of things they did, or places they went to either before marriage or early after, and the child asks:

3“What did I do, father?” “Was I there, too, mother?”

Then begins the mystery. And the lies told by the parents in answer to these simple questions are shameful⁵ to hear. Father and mother smile slyly at each other and reply:

“Oh, no, dearie, you were not there.”

“Where was I, then?” the child insists.

Another sly look passes between the parents and the lies begin.

“You were in heaven,” or “among the flowers, etc.”

“How did I get HERE, then?” continues the small questioner, who is in quest of information concerning THE most important subject in the child world, the “I.”

Then of course, the reply comes that the stork⁶ or the angels, or oftimes the doctor brought him. However, any answer will do which will delude⁷ the child’s mind and keep him, as the parents say, “innocent.”

Now let us see what happens. This little child is beginning to think. He has received brand new information, something fully⁸ as wonderful and mysterious as Santa Claus, and he loves to think about it and talk about it, too.

He goes again to mother (father is not always around) and besieges⁹ her with questions, and she all in ignorance of the harm she is doing him, becomes so entangled¹⁰ in this mesh¹¹ of 4lies that she becomes cross, or impatient, and stops his eager questions by sending him out to play to divert his attention to some other subject. But his attention is not long diverted before he returns to this subject, and if his walk is taken with an aunt or nurse he continues to ask questions, and to his even greater surprise, the aunt or nurse, not knowing what the parent has told him, tells him what she thinks. This will very likely be an entirely¹² different story from that his parents told him, and so he begins to realize that there is some secrecy¹³, which no one will explain, and he becomes determined¹⁴ to find out the meaning of it all.

By the time this little fellow is one year in school he knows all about who brought him from “heaven” and how the stork came, etc. He may have been most carefully reared in the little things which help to make him thoughtful and considerate of others; he may have been trained in every way to make him upright, honest and truthful¹⁵, but the vile¹⁶ words with which this information thus received by him is clothed, the base and foul¹⁷ idea of love and marriage, the distorted view of the creative power which he receives, cannot help but stunt¹⁸ and deform¹⁹ his mind and leave his conception of the beauty of birth and love forever scarred.

If, on the other hand, the child had been 5told the truth by his parents and had the reasons explained to him for not talking to other children on this subject; if he had had impressed on him what a trust was his and how beautiful a gift to take care of, he would have been satisfied and his curiosity would have ceased.

There are excellent parents who pride themselves and boast of never promising²⁰ their child anything from a toy to a spanking²¹ without keeping the promise, but who find themselves most embarrassed and confused when it comes to speaking about the facts of birth.

This attitude of mind comes from several reasons. One is that there are parents, good, faithful and loving, who do not know the dangers and results of street instruction, who think they are keeping the child “pure and innocent” and prefer to give the child the impression of “spiritual” birth, as implied in the answer “The angels brought you from heaven.”

Again, there are parents who know the value of home instruction, but know not how to tell them, and it is for these mothers that the following articles are written.

The best method is to begin to teach the little child when it is very young. At 4 years of age the first lessons of the flowers could be begun. Keep it up. Then a little later, say six months, teach about the fish or frogs. Then the next year the life of the birds should be taught, 6and by the sixth year the child will be ready for the mammals and humans. In case he asks questions before he has learned of the mammals, refer him back to the flowers and you will find an answer.

Most children are safe from being polluted in thought after the study of the flowers, but as the child’s mind keeps growing and developing, his questions in order to be answered truthfully demand that he be taught the higher stages of development.

Mothers, keep in mind, the beauty and wonder of it all, and as you proceed in the study of the mechanism²² of the reproductive organs of human beings you cannot but impress upon the child the beauty and wonder of love. Help the child to realize the sacred trust of his organs, the danger in misusing²³ them. Help him to realize the physical and moral development which awaits him in parenthood, but above all keep him close to you in confidence through the truth.

My object is to help all mothers who wish to give their children the right conception of the beautiful truths of reproduction, and we shall begin our first lessons “The Flowers—Mr. and Mrs. Buttercup, their home and their family.”

1 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

2 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

3 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

4 pervading   

v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• an all-pervading sense of gloom 无处不在的沮丧感
• a pervading mood of fear 普遍的恐惧情绪

5 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

6 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

7 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 besieges   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

10 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mesh   

n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络

参考例句：

• Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
• This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

16 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

17 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

18 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

19 deform   

vt.损坏…的形状；使变形，使变丑；vi.变形

参考例句：

• Shoes that are too tight deform the feet.(穿)太紧的鞋子会使脚变形。
• Ice crystals begin to deform measurably.冰晶就产生某种程度的变形了。

20 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

21 spanking   

adj.强烈的，疾行的；n.打屁股

参考例句：

• The boat is spanking along on the river.船在小河疾驶。
• He heard a horse approaching at a spanking trot.他听到一匹马正在疾步驰近。

22 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

23 misusing   

v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说，我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网