A Mother Touch—-
Self-Control
Many parents do not give their children lessons in self-control. They indulge their appetite, and form the habits of their children in their childhood, to eat and drink, according to their desires.
So will they be in their general habits in their youth. Their desires have not been restrained, and as they grow older, they will not only indulge in the common habits of intemperance, but they will go still further in indulgences. They will choose their own associates, although corrupt. They cannot endure restraint from their parents. They will give loose rein to their corrupt passions, and have but little regard for purity or virtue. This is the reason why there is so little purity and moral worth among the youth of the present day, and is the great cause why men and women feel under so little obligation to render obedience to the law of God. Some parents have not control over themselves. They do not control their own morbid appetites, or their passionate tempers, therefore they cannot educate their children in regard to the denial of their appetite, and teach them self-control.
SM Book 2 P 435
