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Story
August 29, 1940
Mcallen Daily Press
Mcallen, Hidalgo County, Texas
What is this article about?
Anecdote of a lively mother and son whose loud voices cause father to misinterpret play as quarrels, culminating in a chase mishap. Moral: Use a gentle voice with children to prevent back-talk and arguments.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Keep Voice Low
When Talking
To Children
By JANE HERBERT GOWARD
Tom and his mother have much in common temperamentally. Both are high-spirited and fun-loving, and when they are together their voices often get out of control. Father, a quiet, soft-spoken man, frequently thinks they are quarreling when they are not.
Recently, hearing quite a rumpus in the kitchen, he went to find out the trouble, only to be laughed at.
"Whatever made you think that we were quarreling?" mother asked.
She explained that they merely had been exchanging the news of the day.
A few days later dad, comfortably ensconced in a porch rocker, heard a similar commotion going on inside. Now and then he stopped to listen, but always returned to his newspaper satisfied. Their voices were coming first from upstairs and then from below, which should have aroused his suspicions that something was wrong, but although he was aware of their voices coming from odd places he attached no importance to it.
Suddenly the front door flew open and Tom dashed out of the house. Mother, coming up behind him, caught the door in her face on the rebound. Frustrated and tearful, she turned angrily on father, accusing, "You heard us quarreling. Why didn't you come in? Tommy had me chasing him all over the house."
But it was dad's turn to be angry now. "How am I supposed to know when you two are quarreling, if you're always shouting at each other?" he argued. "If you watched your voice, Tommy wouldn't shout at me or talk back."
Dad was right. A high-pitched voice invites back-talk and quarreling. A gentle voice, it won't let you. It pays to watch your voice.
When Talking
To Children
By JANE HERBERT GOWARD
Tom and his mother have much in common temperamentally. Both are high-spirited and fun-loving, and when they are together their voices often get out of control. Father, a quiet, soft-spoken man, frequently thinks they are quarreling when they are not.
Recently, hearing quite a rumpus in the kitchen, he went to find out the trouble, only to be laughed at.
"Whatever made you think that we were quarreling?" mother asked.
She explained that they merely had been exchanging the news of the day.
A few days later dad, comfortably ensconced in a porch rocker, heard a similar commotion going on inside. Now and then he stopped to listen, but always returned to his newspaper satisfied. Their voices were coming first from upstairs and then from below, which should have aroused his suspicions that something was wrong, but although he was aware of their voices coming from odd places he attached no importance to it.
Suddenly the front door flew open and Tom dashed out of the house. Mother, coming up behind him, caught the door in her face on the rebound. Frustrated and tearful, she turned angrily on father, accusing, "You heard us quarreling. Why didn't you come in? Tommy had me chasing him all over the house."
But it was dad's turn to be angry now. "How am I supposed to know when you two are quarreling, if you're always shouting at each other?" he argued. "If you watched your voice, Tommy wouldn't shout at me or talk back."
Dad was right. A high-pitched voice invites back-talk and quarreling. A gentle voice, it won't let you. It pays to watch your voice.
What sub-type of article is it?
Family Drama
What themes does it cover?
Family
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Family Dynamics
Voice Control
Parenting Advice
Domestic Misunderstanding
What entities or persons were involved?
Tom
Mother
Father
Where did it happen?
Home
Story Details
Key Persons
Tom
Mother
Father
Location
Home
Story Details
Tom and his mother, both high-spirited, often speak loudly during fun interactions, leading father to mistake it for quarreling. In one instance, father hears commotion but doesn't intervene, resulting in mother getting hurt while chasing Tom. Father argues their shouting invites back-talk, emphasizing the need for a gentle voice to avoid quarrels.