THE TEMPER CRY
And so now we come to the temper cry—that lusty, strong outburst of the cry of disappointment when he finds that all of a sudden people have stopped jumping and dancing for his every whim. The baby is not to blame. We began something we could not keep up, and he—the innocent recipient of all our indulgences—is in no sense at fault. It is most cruel to encourage these habits of petty indulgence, which must cause so much future disappointment and suffering on the part of the little fellow as he begins to grow up.
Nobody is particularly attracted to the spoiled baby. After the over-indulgent parent and caretaker have completed their thoughtless work, they themselves are ashamed of it and not infrequently begin to criticise the product of their own making—the formation of these unpleasant bad habits. More than anything else, the spoiled child needs a new environment, new parents, and a new life.